Naruto: Legend of the Diamond and Pearl
by WillowWitch
Summary: Naruto and the others must go through a different type of battle when Orochimaru decides to try and destry the world... A POKEMON BATTLE? SasuHina! Slight ShikaIno!
1. Dialga and Palkia have Arrived!

WillowWitch- I had suddenly decided to make this story! I am currently playing Pokemon Fire Red, and I thought about making this new story!

Naruto- In case you didn't know, the pokemon featured in the new season will be in this!

Sakura- (Punches Naruto) HEY! YOU RUINED IT FOR EVERYONE, IDIOT!

Naruto- (Rubs head) Aw, man! Sorry, Sakura…

WillowWitch- I do not own Naruto or Pokemon, but enjoy this anyways! ON WITH THE STORY, PEOPLES!

* * *

Ch. 1- Dialga and Palkia have Arrived! 

Late at night in Konoha, everyone seemed to still be awake in their humble homes. Naruto Uzumaki, our hero as usual, had been up having a late night snack consisting of ramen, ramen, and more ramen. His teammates and friends seemed to be doing other things, though. Sasuke Uchiha, our quiet avenger, had sat next to his room window, staring out at the moon with eagerness for the death of his brother at his hands. Sakura Haruno, our 'friendly' heroine, was staring at a picture of her, Naruto, Sasuke, and their teacher Kakashi. She smiled softly as she stared at everyone.

As for the rest of the Rookie Nine, and Gai's Team, they were still up as well. Shikamaru Nara had Chouji Akimichi sleeping over at his house, and they were playing a couple games of Shougi to pass the time until they decided to sleep. Their teammate, Ino Yamanaka, had been up late cleaning up her family store. She smiled as she came across a cosmos flower, which she had remembered teaching Sakura about when they were younger and best friends instead of rivals.

Kurenai's team had been doing well. Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru were out on a late night walk. With their energetic personalities, they could stay up much longer than Naruto. Shino Aburame wasn't one who would stay up, but he decided to let his bugs take a break and take flight for a while. Hinata Hyuuga, as usual, stayed up late in order to continue her training.

Normally, Gai wouldn't allow his team to stay up late, but they are teenagers after all. Rock Lee decided to stay up and continue training, much like Hinata. He may like following Gai's orders, but he also wanted to put his youth to its full potential. Tenten would not forget her match with Temari. She knew there would be others stronger than her, and like Lee, she trained with her weapons as much as possible. Neji Hyuuga had stayed up in order to protect his cousin, and watched over her when she had trained at night. He never talked with her about it, for it satisfied him a little for the fact that Hinata still tried to be the heiress she was expected to be.

However, all their peaceful late night activities were about to be interrupted. In the middle of the night, a loud crash had hit Konoha, and this caused a small quake to hit everyone. It wasn't too big to cause people to wake up, but it was big enough for everyone to hear. Especially for our hero.

"What was that?" said Naruto, nearly spilling his ramen.

He stood from his seat and looked outside his window, staring out into the dark could of smoke that surrounded the crash. Something gigantic and alive had stood from the spot of the crash. This monster stood tall, for it had four legs, and what looked like spikes on its rear. It also had a long neck and a somewhat long head. What was odd was that it had a shiny object on its chest.

Before Naruto could say anything more, a huge light appeared next to the monster. From the light, another monster had appeared next to the first one. This one stood on two feet, and it looked like a giant dinosaur with two different shiny objects on it's shoulders. The two monsters had stared down at each other, and suddenly, a ball of light appeared at the four-legged monster's mouth, and jerking its neck forward, the ball turned into a beam of energy heading towards the other monster.

The other monster had been hit, and immediately slashed one of its claws into its attacker. Once done so, the two monsters attacked each other at the same time, and before the hit, a blinding light had come through Konoha, and when Naruto was able to see again, the monsters were gone. Naruto stared out at the very fighting spot for a while. If he wasn't wide awake earlier, he was now!

What he didn't notice was that an egg was being held by the four-legged monster, and that when the two disappeared, the egg had been blasted from the fighting spot and shot towards Konoha. It landed in a tree and rustled in the leaves as it came down. Before it could fall to the ground, it landed into the arms of a certain Hyuuga heiress…

…This tree the egg landed in happened to be the one Hinata Hyuuga was training on…

* * *

The next morning, the whole late night fight was the talk of the town! Almost everyone had seen the monster fight, and yet, the teams were still allowed to train. Naruto had run towards his teammates with shock still plastered on his face. However, his teammates didn't look so energetic. 

"Hey guys! You'll never believe what I saw last night!" shouted Naruto.

"We know, Naruto, we saw it, too" said Sakura, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"Hn" said Sasuke, eyes looking redder than usual.

"Geez, what happened to you two? A little night up make you tired? I stayed up all night, and I'm fine!" shouted Naruto. Sakura scoffed.

"You were probably eating ramen all night long" said Sakura, and Naruto pouted from the fact that it was true.

"What do you think that was?" Naruto asked, changing the subject.

They all thought about this, and they were still clueless. They sighed in defeat and from exhaustion. Apparently, the rest of the Rookie Nine and Gai's team had seen the fight, for Naruto had passed by most of them on his way to the teammates. They looked terrible.

"I see you three know about it as well"

They looked to see that their teacher, Kakashi, was standing by them, holding his usual book of perverted imaginations. He coughed.

"Sorry I was late. I had a meeting with the Hokage and-"started Kakashi, but Sakura interrupted.

"Yeah right! Probably lying again, Kakashi-sense-" said Sakura and Kakashi interrupted her as she did with him.

"Quiet, Sakura. A serious matter has been brought upon Konoha…" said Kakashi, looking serious. This comment silenced Sakura and Naruto immediately.

"Does it have to do with the fight last night?" Sasuke asked, and Kakashi narrowed his eyes. He nodded.

"Tsunade requests our presence in her office. You all will be briefed on what the fight was about and why it seemed to have happened. There's also something else she needs to do that involves everyone…" said Kakashi.

* * *

Later, all four teams had been inside of Tsunade's office, and she didn't look happy or relaxed. This told everyone that what happened could be disastrous. 

"I see your sensei's have told you about why this meeting was called?" she asked, and everyone nodded. "Good. As most of you may know, there are many mysteries about the world and we are hidden from most of those mysteries and conflicts. We are also hidden from certain species as well… Pokemon"

"Poke- what?" asked Kiba, and Akamaru barked.

"Pokemon. It's the term for 'Pocket Monsters'. Creatures that have special abilities like we do" answered Sakura, and everyone looked at her. "It's been written in ancient leaf village books that pokemon are the source of the jutsu's that we use, whether they be fire, water, grass, whatever they may be"

Tsunade smiled; obviously impressed at the knowledge Sakura had obtained over her years as her apprentice. Sakura had continued her teachings about pokemon.

"In the past, our ancestors had pokemon of their own, and the types of pokemon were what divided the villages into the Leaf Village, Wave Village, Fire Village, and all the other villages" Sakura states, and everyone looks at her confused.

"In other words, they are the whole reason as to why we had famous bloodlines like today" said Tsunade, and Shikamaru raised his hand. "Yes, Shikamaru?"

"How did we obtain the abilities from these ... Pokemon…?" he asked, trying to pronounce their new vocabulary word (Yeah… Not that funny…).

"It's said to be because of the bonds our ancestors had with their pokemon… They had been so close, that when the trainers were attacked in the ancient war a long time ago, the pokemon had sacrificed their souls and let their trainers carry their abilities, which saved their lives…" said Tsunade, looking at everyone's shocked and devastated faces.

"However, because of the sacrifice, it was known that pokemon would be too dangerous to have around, now that the powers were permanently theirs. Despite the powers given to them, they had to let their legacies live on, and so they all had kids. Their fears had come true, as the kids had obtained the powers, which caused the bloodlines to be born" this seemed to be making sense now, because Sasuke and Neji were now looking away as if they didn't care anymore.

"But that didn't mean pokemon weren't gone from everywhere else in the world. The world was divided into regions. We are the only region that was ever hidden from pokemon. We live in the Shinobi region" Tsunade continued and Lee was getting anxious already.

"So where ARE these creatures with youthful abilities?" Lee asked, and Tsunade had opened her drawer, holding many of the red and white balls.

"Right here" she said.

She said the last word slowly as she showed everyone one of the red and white balls. Everyone stared at it closely, but found nothing special about it. Naruto had stared at it for a while, but still saw nothing. There just seemed to be something telling him to look at the ball. Suddenly, before his eyes, a faint vision of a small red fox with 6 red tails had appeared in his mind. Completely shocked, he took a step back.

From this reaction, everyone in the room had looked at him. They looked at his face, which seemed to be disturbed by something. Tsunade had noticed the look, and smiled. She stood from her chair and took hold of the ball.

"I see that Naruto has found the one pokemon that matched him well" said Tsunade, taking hold of the ball and tossing it to Naruto.

"W-What is it?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

"That is a Pokeball. That is the reason why pokemon is the term for 'Pocket Monsters'" she answered. Naruto's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"You mean the pokemon are inside these BALLS?" shouted Naruto, and Sakura punched him in the head, nearly making him drop the ball.

"Stop shouting, STUPID!" shouted Sakura, making everyone sweat drop.

"Naruto, it's alright" said Tsunade. "Just let the pokemon out"

They waited patiently for Naruto to open the ball, but Naruto just stood there, staring at the ball endlessly. They had waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and- you get what I mean. However, he still just stood there, staring at the ball. Sakura was very impatient, now.

"Will you open the stupid thing!" shouted Sakura, about to punch Naruto again, but he had answered her before she could do so.

"But… I don't know how to open this thing…" he admitted, and everyone in the room did an anime fall right then and there.

"Naruto… Just… Toss the ball in… The air" muttered Tsunade with her face in her desk.

"Oh, okay" replied Naruto.

Naruto seemed hesitant at first, probably because of his disbelief that creatures could fit in tiny round objects like this. However, he knew Tsunade must have been serious, so he gently tossed the ball in the air, and right before everyone's eyes, the ball opened, and a light had come from the ball. The light had died down to show that the small red fox with 6 tails was in front of them.

In complete shock, everyone stared at the small creature, jaws dropped. Naruto, who had seen this creature in his mind, had slowly walked towards it, and before he could do anything, the creature walked to him and licked his leg. This made Naruto jump out of surprise, and the animal started laughing.

"Naruto, this is your pokemon, Vulpix" said Tsunade.

"Vulpix Vul!" said the little creature, causing Sakura and Ino to shriek.

"IT'S SO CUTE!" they shouted, walking to it and petting it. Vulpix had been enjoying the attention it got, and grinned.

Sakura stared at the smile that Vulpix made, and realized that the smile looked like Naruto's comforting smile, which she had seen before. She smiled at this, and pet its head gently. Ino looked at Tsunade and asked.

"Wait a minute. Does that mean the rest of us get pokemon, too?"

Tsunade smiled. She grabbed the rest of the pokeballs and placed them on the table. They all looked at Tsunade.

"Don't worry. We were able to secretly hide some of the pokemon that were left in the Shinobi Region, and these are the ones that were left" she said.

"Wait, left? So you gave other ninjas pokemon, too?" Kiba asked, and Tsunade nodded.

"There's a slight chance that people will try to capture these two giant pokemon. That means there'll be people coming to Konoha in order to get them. I'm sure you can all think of a certain person who'd be after them" said Tsunade.

"Orochimaru!" said Sakura.

She nodded. Picking up the pokeballs, she passed each one to a ninja, including Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, and Gai. Everyone except Hinata had gotten a pokeball. As everyone looked at them, Shino noticed that Hinata didn't have one.

"Tsunade- sama, I believe our teammate doesn't have a pokemon" said Shino.

"Ah, yes! Hinata, you reported to me that there was something you needed to show us all" said Tsunade, and Hinata nodded shyly, walking to Tsunade with a big blanket in her hands. "Go ahead, Hinata, you can show them"

As she was told, Hinata slowly took off the blanket and revealed an egg to everyone in the room. They all stared at it blankly, especially Neji, who had not noticed Hinata take it out of the house.

"In Hinata's hands is a pokemon egg. Like humans, pokemon need to reproduce, and so they make these eggs. The eggs eventually hatch, depending on the care given to them by their trainer or parent. Hinata, I am sorry to say that there were no pokemon left for you, so you will have to take care of that egg" Tsunade asked Hinata.

"Wait a minute!" shouted Neji. "When did she get that?"

"She had reported to have gotten it last night, right after the fight between the giant pokemon. If I haven't told you, yet, those pokemon are called Dialga and Palkia. Dialga being the four legged one, and Palkia being the one that stands" said Tsunade.

"Have you figured out why they fought here in Konoha?" asked Shino.

"According to books, Dialga and Palkia are sworn enemies. They are exact opposites for Dialga is the pokemon of time, and Palkia is the pokemon of space. They are said to fight often, but every time they do, three legendary pokemon come and stop them, sending them to opposite sides of the galaxy" said Tsunade, reading out of a book.

"What do they have to do with this egg?" Sasuke asked.

"The egg was the reason why they fought here" she answered.

Everyone had tensed up with this comment.

"This egg is one of the three pokemon that can stop Dialga and Palkia. You can tell from the pattern on the egg. Every time Dialga and Palkia fight, this pokemon, along with the other two, hatch from their eggs and hunt for the two fighting pokemon, and when they find them, they stop them. This is the egg of Emrit" said Tsunade.

"I've heard of that pokemon! Emrit is a pokemon that uses psychic moves to attack its opponents. It's referred to as the god of emotion, and it is said that Emrit taught humans how to feel emotions. Just by touching its body, the victim could end up emotionless for three days at the most!" said Sakura, and Tsunade took a book from her shelf.

"Very good, Sakura. If you need to know, this is what the three legendary pokemon look like" said Tsunade, pointing to a sketch in the book of three small pokemon.

One of them had a round, yellow head that had a jewel encrusted in it. Its eyes were closed and it seemed to be deep in thought. Another one had a pink head with four long ear-looking things coming from it. It also had a jewel encrusted in its head. The last one had a blue, cone shaped head with a jewel encrusted in its head. It also had two dropping blue ears, but they weren't as long as the pink one's were.

What they all had noticed was that all three of the pokemon had the same body and the same two tails with jewels encrusted in them as well.

"This one with the pink head is Emrit. If the legend is true, the other two eggs will hatch soon and come here to stop Dialga and Palkia. Until that time comes, you will all have to get to know your pokemon and make your bond with them now. However, Hinata, there will be others who know about that egg, so you must make sure not to lose it or let it out of your sight until it hatches" ordered Tsunade.

"Y-Yes, Tsunade-sama" said Hinata, bowing.

"But Tsunade-sama, what about Dialga and Palkia? How will the three stop their fight if Emrit hatches here?" Sakura asked.

"Dialga and Palkia are said not to fight too far away from where the fight started. They may as well be going in circles, so they will come back here to Konoha a couple of times. Until the two of them stop fighting, Konoha, and the whole world are in danger" said Tsunade, and everyone nodded, leaving the room.

"And Hinata…" started Tsunade, looking out the window.

Hinata turned towards Tsunade right before leaving the room.

"Be careful. Orochimaru might be after the egg, knowing that the world is now in danger, and trust me… He knows… He has his ways in finding out these things, especially when we don't know it…" said Tsunade. Hinata shyly nodded and left.

* * *

Outside and gathered in the same training areas, the teams had gotten ready to release their pokemon. Their teachers had left in order to train on their own, knowing that their pokemon would be a lot stronger than their students. Team 7 had stepped up, Naruto showing Vulpix to everyone. 

"Alright, then! Let's see your pokemon!" he shouted, punching his fist into the air.

"Here it goes!" shouted Sakura, tossing her pokeball into the air, and out of it had come a Skitty. It meowed and Sakura shrieked at how cute it was and pet it. "Aw! Cute!"

"Hmph!" said Sasuke, throwing his pokeball in the air, and out of it came a Houndour. It barked at everyone and stood proudly next to its trainer. "Hn. I may like this one"

The other teams stared in awe as their pokemon wandered around them. Ino stepped up, now, holding her pokeball out. Shikamaru and Chouji sighed, knowing how she was when something like this ever happened to them.

"Alright, and now it's OUR turn! Come on out!" shouted Ino, throwing her ball into the air, and out of it came an Oddish. The leaves on its head fastened to look like Ino's hairstyle. "Wow! You look stylish!"

"This is troublesome, but whatever" said Shikamaru, lazily tossing the ball up and letting out a Slakoth. It yawned at him, and suddenly, he felt sleepy. "Ugh. Even more troublesome"

"Let's see what I got, now!" said Chouji, throwing his ball. Out of the pokeball had come a Makuhita, and it punched its punching gloved fist into the air. "Wow! Awesome!"

Ino and Sakura stared at each other, and so had their pokemon. After a while, they smiled and shook each other's hands (Oddish using its leaves to shake with Skitty's paw).

"That pokemon matches you!" complimented Sakura to Ino.

"Thanks, and your pokemon's really cute!" replied Ino.

Kiba and Shino had immediately grabbed their pokeballs and threw them into the air. The pokeballs opened and revealed a Skorupi for Shino while Kiba got a Growlithe. Growlithe barked at Akamaru and the two started chatting. Skorupi, however, had all the girls running away from it.

"Cool! A DOG pokemon!" said Kiba, petting Growlithe and Akamaru.

"… A bug… This'll do" said Shino.

Lee, Neji, and Tenten realized that now it was their turn to bring out their pokemon, and Lee, being the anxious one, had decided to go first. He brought out his pokeball and threw it into the air as everyone else did to reveal a Combusken. It used Double Kick on a nearby tree and it fell, almost hitting Hinata and the egg. She nearly fainted in shock.

"WOW! Such youth! Let me try that!" shouted Lee, but Tenten punched him in the head.

"Are you CRAZY? Anymore broken trees and Konoha won't be so 'hidden' anymore!" she shouted, punching him again. "And you almost hit Hinata! She's got a baby, y' know!"

This comment had made Hinata blush a darker red than anything ever seen. It also caused Neji to glare at Tenten for even thinking about Hinata having a child at her age. Ignoring all of these things, Tenten threw her pokeball into the air, and a giant, shiny pokemon came out of it, knocking over a few trees and surprising everyone with its height.

Tenten stared at her pokemon in awe, and it bent down to her and rubbed its cheek against her as if it missed her or something. She awkwardly tapped its cheek as if to pet it, and it smiled at her.

"Steeeelix!" it said, and Tenten looked up at it.

"Steelix? Is that your name?" she asked, and it nodded. "Wow, nice to meet you, Steelix!"

"That's a really big pokemon! It'll be hard to hide something like THAT!" said Naruto.

"Well, who cares? We're using the pokemon for battle, right? Besides, Steelix is adorable!" Tenten said, causing everyone to stare at her as if she were crazy.

"Whatever, in any case, I need to let out my pokemon, now" said Neji, throwing his pokeball, and out of it had come a Dusclops. Its eye glows a really bright red as it stood next to Neji. "Hmm… You're an interesting one"

Dusclops seemed to have been terrifying because of Sakura, Ino, and Tenten gathering together as far away from the ghost pokemon as possible. Hinata would've joined them if she weren't trying to take care of an egg at the moment. Everyone had complimented and commented each other's pokemon as they decided to spend the rest of the day to bond with them.

* * *

As they did that, they weren't aware that far away in a different region in the world, two pokemon eggs were glowing a bright color, and they started moving a little. They were so bright that you could see something inside of them. It looked as thought they would be hatching sometime soon.

* * *

However, in another area of their region, Orochimaru had sat in a seat in the Village of Sound, staring out of a window as if he were waiting for something. As if on cue, Kabuto had appeared with a puff of smoke into the room and smirked at Orochimaru. 

"Those simple Leaf Village Shinobi are clueless" said Kabuto. "I had gotten the info on the attack near Konoha last night. Apparently, not even Tsunade was able to realize that I was sitting outside her window and on the roof, using the vibrations of their voices to translate their words. Would you like to hear what I've gained, Lord Orochimaru?"

"I wouldn't need it anyway, Kabuto. Why learn about something I already know about? It was just another chance for you to prove yourself to me. Ninja who aren't good enough for my tastes would've been caught. Especially with all the people in that room. Tsunade isn't the only one who has gained knowledge about the world outside the Shinobi region"

Kabuto stared at Orochimaru, knowing that he had come up with a plan involving Konoha again. He waited patiently for Orochimaru to inform him of his plan, and sure enough, Orochimaru had done so.

"Well, Kabuto… I believe it's time to pay a visit to Konoha… There's… A package that we need to pick up" said Orochimaru, licking his lips.

TBC…

* * *

WillowWitch- Wow, I've been working really hard on this story for a while, so I hope you like it so far! Any comments or concerns? If so, please tell me nicely in a review! 

Hinata- P-Please read and review!


	2. Emrit Has Been Born!

WillowWitch- Well, I see people have been reading, and that makes me happy! So, here's the next chapter, and this one will be a little more exciting!

Sasuke- Or so she says…

WillowWitch- Shaddap, Sasuke and just read, okay? ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

Ch. 2- Emrit Has Been Born!

Naruto and everyone had all decided to train their pokemon together, in case of any incidents that would need the other pokemon (Such as Sakura's Skitty having to use Blizzard on Sasuke and Naruto's mistakes…). As everyone trained with their pokemon, Hinata had been holding the Emrit egg in a blanket, trying to keep it as warm as possible.

"Hinata-sama"

Hinata knew who it was, but looked anyway to see Neji, with Dusclops standing behind him. He looked from her, to the egg, and back to her. She knew he was bothered with her being given the responsibility and custody for the egg, but what could she do?

"Y-Yes, Neji-nii-san?" she stuttered.

"Are you sure you don't want to ask Tsunade-sama to reconsider this? If other ninja will be after the egg, there's no way you'd be able to protect it" said Neji, and Hinata looked down at her feet in discourage.

Neji saw this look and realized what he said, and how it could have hurt Hinata. He coughed, clearing his throat to get her attention. She looked at him.

"I didn't mean it like that, Hinata-sama" said Neji, and she blinked. "You've become strong since the Chuunin Exams, and I'm aware of that, but even so… With our technique, you won't be able to protect it while fighting. You must realize that. If we talk to Tsunade-sama, maybe she'll reconsider and give it to someone like Sakura"

That comment made Hinata cringe. She never told Neji, but she never liked it when Sakura helped out more than she did. She knew that Sakura was only trying to impress Sasuke, but yet, it always backfired and Naruto ended being impressed. Not Sasuke. Naruto was the one SHE wanted to impress.

However, even when she did impress Naruto, Sakura always comes in and takes his attention off of her. It's not intentional, she knew that, but it still didn't seem fair.

Knowing this, she decided to she was not going to let Sakura have the spotlight again. She wanted to be the one to be noticed more than anyone in the world. She held onto the egg and looked at Neji with determination all over her face.

"No thanks, Neji-nii-san" she said, staring Neji straight in the eye. "I… I want to do this… But… I-It'd be nice if, um, you could help me"

Neji blinked, looking at the egg again and then back at her. He was a little hesitant to do so, but he smiled at her. It was the exact same smile he gave her when she had returned from the Bikouchu mission. She smiled back at him.

"I'll do what I can, Hinata-sama" said Neji.

"We will, too!" said Sakura and Ino.

"Don't forget me!" said Tenten.

Hinata smiled at everyone in gratitude. She knew there will be hardships to go through until the egg hatched, but she knew she had to be ready for them. With all her friends around her, including the ones that were still training, they would be triumphant in stopping the end of the world. She just knew it.

Suddenly, as she thought this, the egg in her hands started to glow. She and everyone around her stared in shock as it started wiggling.

"Hey, everyone! The egg is hatching!" shouted Tenten, and everyone who was still training had run over to them to see the egg.

It wiggled violently now and the suspense was rising as the heartbeats in everyone's chest were beating fast. Thump, thump, thump. They all heard it, and as the egg moved a little more, it had stopped. The glow had died down and everyone sighed in frustration. The egg had not seemed ready to hatch, yet…

"Aw, man! You called all of us over here for nothing?" Naruto whined, and Sakura turned to him.

"Be quiet, Naruto! We all wanted to see it!" said Sakura, and they all sighed.

Hinata looked at the egg happily. She was going to complete this and do the best she can to help everyone else. She also wanted desperately… to impress Naruto, as well…

* * *

As everything went on like this, Tsunade was working in her office until Shizune has barged in. Tsunade looked at her to see that Shizune was really worried about something.

"Did you do what I asked?" Tsunade asked, and Shizune nodded.

"According to our calculations and such, Dialga and Palkia should be seen fighting near the Village of Grass" said Shizune.

"Good. I'll have Naruto and the others headed there with the egg" said Tsunade, but Shizune coughed, getting her attention again.

"There's something else… There have been reports saying that Orochimaru is currently headed there, too" said Shizune, and Tsunade slammed her desk.

"WHAT? If that's the case, get Naruto and the others in here, NOW!" shouted Tsunade, and Shizune ran out the door. "…Orochimaru…"

* * *

A few minutes later, everyone had gathered in Tsunade's office with their pokemon (In their pokeballs at least). Tsunade had a grim look on her face, so everyone had patiently waited for her to say something… Well, MOST of them at least…

"Granny Tsunade! Just tell us why you called us so we can actually DO something already!" shouted Naruto, and Sakura punched him in the head.

"Just SHUT UP, IDIOT!" shouted Sakura.

"Silence, everyone…" said Tsunade, firmly. "There's something you have to do right now. Dialga and Palkia are on the move, and they are said to be heading towards the Village of Grass, so you will all need to get there before they do and try to stop them the best way you can"

"Huh? How? You said only the three legendaries can do that" said Shikamaru.

"Stall them, then. Hopefully, Emrit will have hatched. When Emrit hatches, it is likely that the other two will have or have been hatched already. The three of them have a connection, so they know where each other is, and that connection goes to Dialga and Palkia as well" said Tsunade.

"Can Emrit do such a thing? I mean, it will just have hatched and still be a baby" said Sakura, and Tsunade smiled.

"You should never underestimate what a pokemon can do, Sakura" she said.

"Then the mission is to get to the Village of Grass? When are they supposedly going to be there?" Shikamaru asked.

"Shizune had predicted about in about four days. That is plenty of time to get to the village and prepare yourselves. Be warned. Other villages are not aware of the existence of pokemon, so do not let them be seen. Normal looking pokemon, such as Skitty and Growlithe are allowed to be seen. Otherwise, leave them in your pokeballs. Got it?" She asked, and everyone nodded. "And Shikamaru, since you ARE the only Chuunin, you will be the leader for this mission"

"Right" replied Shikamaru.

"I must warn all of you again… Shizune also reported that Orochimaru and his ninja are headed to the Village of Grass. You must get to the village as soon as possible and avoid fighting the Sound ninja. Is that clear?" Tsunade asked.

They nodded again.

"Good. Dismissed!" shouted Tsunade, and everyone left the room.

Everyone had gathered around outside of Konoha, trying to think of how to get to the Village of Grass in time to make another plan. Shikamaru had given them the facts of the Village of Grass.

"Okay, the Village of Grass is a very fragile and small one, so we must try to avoid causing any damage at all costs. We also need to get there as quickly as possible, but on foot would take too long. Any suggestions?" Shikamaru asked.

They all thought about this for a second, but Tenten had raised her hand a few minutes afterwards. She took out her pokeball and grinned to everyone.

"I've got the perfect plan!" she said, throwing her pokeball into the air.

Steelix had come out of it and growled loudly as it rubbed its cheek against Tenten again. She laughed and petted him. Everyone glared at her, trying to hint that this was serious. She understood.

"Steelix, can you use dig and head in that direction? We'll be right behind you" said Tenten, pointing. Steelix dove into the ground and made a big hole.

"We're following Steelix, then?" Sakura asked.

"It's a good way to avoid fights on the way, so let's go" said Shikamaru, jumping in after Steelix and following it.

* * *

In the tunnel that Steelix had made, everyone had walked as quickly as possible. However, even if it was a one way tunnel, they still had trouble being able to see.

"What do we do? I can barely hear Steelix now! He's going too fast!" complained Ino.

"We have a lot of fire pokemon! Can't they do something?" asked Lee.

"They need something to light, Lee" said Sakura.

They thought about this while walking in the tunnel until Hinata gasped. They all looked at her, or where the gasp had come from, so see that the egg in her hands was glowing. It glowed so bright that everyone was able to see the tunnel and all around it. Ino shrieked and everyone jumped to look at her.

"Ino, what's wrong?" Shikamaru asked.

"This place is full of BUGS!" she shouted, hopping everywhere to avoid the large insects.

"There is nothing wrong with bugs" said Shino, simply.

"I wasn't asking you!" shouted Ino, and a bunch of rocks from above them had fallen. Shikamaru noticed this immediately and ran towards Ino.

"Ino, watch out!" shouted Shikamaru, pushing her away from the piece of land that fell right in the area they were just in. He fell straight on top of her.

Everyone had stared into the opening of the tunnel. Shikamaru sighed, getting off of a shocked and blushing Ino and looking through the hole. Ino stood, still standing next to Shikamaru.

"T-Thanks" she stuttered, looking at the place where she would've died.

"Sure. Great, now there's a way for outside ninja to find us easily. We need to get as far into the tunnel as possible now" said Shikamaru. He pointed down the tunnel, telling everyone to run. As everyone did so, Ino stayed behind.

"Shikamaru… Why… Why did you-" she started, but couldn't finish.

"I'm the leader. I'm in charge of everyone, aren't I?" he asked, then running off with everyone else, leaving Ino shocked and surprised. He wasn't able to notice that she gave a small smile before she ran after everyone.

As they had all continued running, everyone seemed to be running into each other more than through the tunnel. First it was Kiba who ran into Tenten, and then Lee ran into Sasuke, and Naruto who ran into Chouji. Shikamaru told everyone to stop, and decided to have them think of a way to let them see the tunnel again.

"Hinata, do you think your egg can do the glow thing again?" Naruto asked.

"I-I don't think so" said Hinata.

"So, what do we do then?" asked Kiba, suddenly hearing rocks falling again.

"Alright, everyone, gather around and follow my voice" said Shikamaru as everyone did what he said. "It's obvious that the tunnel break due to the vibrations of our loud voices, so we must keep our voices as low as possible. Another thing, we need to be able to see, so are there any suggestions? The only people who can possibly know where they're going are Neji and Hinata right now"

Everyone had thought about this for a while, now, and suddenly, Sasuke brought out his Houndour and turned to where he thought Ino was.

"Ino, bring out Oddish" ordered Sasuke, and Ino nodded, bringing out Oddish.

Suddenly, Hinata's egg started glowing really bright again, and everyone was able to see where they were. Sasuke smirked.

"Perfect timing. Ino, have Oddish use Razor Leaf on the wall" said Sasuke. Ino nodded, and Oddish had done so.

"Houndour, use Flamethrower on the leaves!" said Sasuke, and Houndour did this, letting the light of the flames brighten the tunnel a little bit. The flames had burned the leaves quickly, and the tunnel became dark again. "I knew it. In order to do this, we'll need to run down the tunnel, Ino having Oddish use Razor Leaf while doing so, and then having the rest of us with fire pokemon flaming the leafs in order to get us down there quickly"

"Alright, there's a good plan. Let's go" said Shikamaru.

* * *

Throughout the rest of the way, Naruto's Vulpix, Kiba's Growlithe, Sasuke's Houndour, and Lee's Combusken had used Flamethrower on Ino's leaves, and they had finally caught up to an exhausted Steelix. Tenten walked up to its tail and pet it.

"Thanks, Steelix. You can take a rest, now" said Tenten, having Steelix return to its pokeball as Shikamaru had thrown a couple of Kunai's at the ceiling of the tunnel.

"Alright, now Lee can have Combusken Double Kick the ceiling" said Shikamaru.

"No way! We'll kick the ceiling together!" said Lee, and the two of them had both kicked the ceiling, causing the land above it to come crashing down.

"Nice one, Bushy Brow!" said Naruto, laughing at Lee's dirty body.

"Cut it out and just c'mon!" said Shikamaru. "And perfect place for Steelix to stop, too. In just an hour, we'll be in the Village of Grass"

"I wonder how long we took. We couldn't have done all of this in a day!" said Sakura, walking with everyone towards the village.

* * *

As Shikamaru said, within the hour, everyone was at the gate to the Village of Grass. They had found a small inn with just enough rooms for two teams. Kiba's team was one of the teams, since Hinata needed to take care of the egg, and the other team was Lee's team, since Tenten kept whining about how much her Steelix had done for everyone.

However, Naruto and Shikamaru's teams were sleeping outside the Village of Grass in order to make sure that Dialga and Palkia were going to be stopped. While everyone had been getting ready to sleep, Ino, Sakura, and their pokemon were bathing in a nearby lake.

"Hey Ino, I saw how Shikamaru saved you from that falling bunch of rocks. Do you think he likes you?" Sakura asked, and her Skitty meowed.

"Yeah right! He probably likes that Temari girl! They're better friends than me and him!" said Ino, and Sakura scoffed at this. Ino glared.

"C'mon, Ino! Even if he IS responsible for all of us, he landed on you and STAYED on you for some time, you know! Besides, that Temari girl is too old for Shikamaru!" said Sakura and Ino started turning red.

"Are you only saying this so you can get Sasuke?" Ino asked, making Sakura look downwards.

"…No… I… I just…" started Sakura, but like Ino in the tunnel, she couldn't continue.

"Don't worry… It must've hurt when Sasuke…" started Ino and Sakura nodded.

"I'd always thought that when a guy and girl become good friends, they end up together in the end… I wished that… the saying would work for me and Sasuke" said Sakura.

Ino stared at her friend for a while, feeling somewhat sympathetic for her. She put her hand on Sakura's shoulder, trying to comfort her. Sakura looked at Ino, just to see her giving her a comforting smile.

"You know, Sakura… You haven't changed that much" said Ino, making Sakura blink at her. "You're still shy and like to believe in only the good things of life, even with all that we've gone through being ninja. You only see the bad things, and that makes you believe that there is nothing good going for you. When you finally just accept and see the good things that happen around you, that will be when you completely bloom to the fullest. Inside and Out"

Sakura stared at Ino as she told her this, and smiled in gratitude towards her friend. Their pokemon jumped into their laps and smiled at them.

"Oddish! Oddish!" said Oddish, hopping around in the water.

"See? We have pokemon! Adorable pokemon! That's one of the good things in life! And Sasuke DID return to us, after all!" said Ino, smiling, and they both laughed.

"Just like old times, huh?" Sakura asked, and Ino nodded.

When they had finally gotten out of the water and back to the others, Naruto and Chouji were already sleeping. Shikamaru was standing watch and Sasuke was getting ready to sleep. They got in their sleeping beds and decided to sleep, Ino giving Shikamaru one last glance before dozing off.

* * *

In the inn, Lee, Tenten, and Neji were getting ready for bed. Tenten checking all of her weapons while Lee was sparring with Combusken. Neji was sitting quietly on his bed, bearing a worried expression on his face. Everyone was able to notice it.

"Neji, Hinata's not going to get attacked during the night, y' know!" said Tenten, examining her clean kunai.

"It could happen. After all, Orochimaru should be here around now if those pokemon are coming here tonight. How can you even sleep?" Neji asked.

"Uh, maybe because we have Shikamaru? He's up outside, so he'll warn us if Orochimaru is around, okay?" asked Tenten, and Neji sighed.

"Neji, my friend, you are wasting your youth on worrying! You'll get wrinkles! Trust me! The Green Beast of Konoha would know this!" said Lee, giving them his sparkling smile.

Neji AND Tenten sighed this time, somewhat irritated by Lee's 'youth' comments. Neji had looked outside the window at the moon, and walked out the door.

"I'll give Hinata-sama a visit" said Neji, making Tenten watch after him.

"He's so overprotective… It's no wonder Hinata can't get a boyfriend!" said Tenten.

"Don't worry, Tenten. He'll realize Hinata can take care of the egg. Anytime now" said Lee, and she nodded in agreement.

* * *

In the next room, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino had been doing their own thing as usual. Kiba was playing with Growlithe and Akamaru as Shino stared out the window, as if he took it upon himself to be another lookout. Hinata had been cleaning the egg from the dirt it had received in the tunnel.

"I really wonder how we had gotten here in three days! Just in time to see the two legendary pokemon! How awesome is that?" asked Kiba as Growlithe tackled him.

"Yes, but that means that Orochimaru is around now. We cannot let him get hold of those two pokemon" said Shino, still staring out the window.

Hinata just finished cleaning off a dirt spot off of Emrit's egg, and it had glowed again. Kiba sighed in frustration as Growlithe and Akamaru had crawled off him.

"When is that thing gonna hatch already?" Kiba complained.

"When it is time for it to be of use" said Shino. Hinata just slightly nodded.

"And it will be useful…"

They all looked around the room, but no one other then they were around. Shino looked out the window, but saw nothing… until slick black hair had come into his view. He jumped back, grabbing a couple of kunai and throwing it to the intruder. It missed, and the person had jumped into the room. Horror had filled everyone's eyes as they recognized the person in their presence.

"I…. It's…" stuttered Hinata, but was too scared to say his name.

"O-Orochimaru! Hinata, get out of here!" shouted Kiba, getting into fighting position.

"My, my. I wouldn't want you to leave just yet" said Orochimaru, swiftly getting past Shino and Kiba to block the door from Hinata. "Especially since you have something I want"

"N-No!" shouted Hinata, jumping away from him.

"Hinata-sama?" a voice came from the other side of the door. Orochimaru locked it.

"N-Neji-nii-san!" shouted Hinata, holding onto the egg and trying to protect it.

Neji, on the other side, had started banging on the door when he heard the terror in her voice. He heard a lot of crashing from Hinata trying to escape Orochimaru, and Kiba trying to protect her with Shino. However, Hinata knew her only choice was out the window. She leaped across the room and jumped out, holding onto the egg and jumping from branch to branch as she ended up in a tree.

Neji ran back to his room to get Tenten and Lee, and all three of them left the inn, having Tenten get Shikamaru and the others. Meanwhile, Hinata had still been trying to avoid Orochimaru as he chased her in the forest around the village. She jumped from tree to tree trying to escape him. However, he threw a couple of shuriken at the branch she was about to land on, and it broke off, causing her to fall to the ground below.

She fell on the ground pretty hard, but avoided injuring the egg. Doing so, Orochimaru had jumped down, walking towards her.

"You're a feisty one, I'll admit, but that's all over now" said Orochimaru, grabbing the blanket with the egg in it and trying to rip it away from Hinata, but she wouldn't let go of it. He tugged his hardest, but she wouldn't let it go.

"Ugh, you nuisance!" said Orochimaru, now kicking Hinata in the side.

As they both tugged their hardest to get the egg, the blanket ripped, and it had been flown into the air. Everything had gone in slow motion as Hinata had stood from her place on the ground and ran towards the egg, trying to catch it in time, but as time seemed to slow down more, she knew she wouldn't be able to catch it in time.

Suddenly, a pokemon had caught the egg just in time, and it stood in front of Hinata as she fell to the ground. She looked up at the mysterious pokemon, and saw that it was a Houndour. It gently set the egg down and barked as its master came from behind a tree.

"How's the egg?" asked Sasuke, approaching Hinata.

"Uh… I-It's fine! Thank you!" said Hinata, shocked and surprised that it was Sasuke who appeared and not Naruto.

"Naruto's busy, so he couldn't help" said Sasuke, noticing Hinata's downhearted look. "C'mon, we have to get out of here"

However, Orochimaru wasn't going to let them go that easily. He started dashing towards Hinata, who had the egg in her arms. She was too scared to move, but Sasuke and Houndour had stood in front of her. She looked at them shocked from the fact that she didn't even know Sasuke that well, but stood there.

"Don't worry, I got your back" he said, standing in fighting position to block Orochimaru.

"S-Sasuke" said Hinata, and Sasuke had picked her up and jumped away from Orochimaru. They landed in a tree above him, and he looked up at them.

"Well, well, well. I guess those Sound ninja I sent ARE keeping your friends busy! It's almost time, now, you two. I need that egg before then" said Orochimaru, licking his lips.

"Not on your life!" shouted Sasuke, causing Houndour to bark as it used Flamethrower on Orochimaru, missing him.

Suddenly, they heard a crash coming from near the Village of Grass. Hinata had gasped when the egg had started glowing once again. As the egg glowed, Hinata, Sasuke, and Houndour started glowing as well. They had instantly started floating from their spot on the tree branch, and had flown towards the village, leaving Orochimaru to watch them leave.

He outstretched his tongue and it grabbed Hinata's leg. She gasped, and Sasuke immediately grabbed a kunai and slashed Orochimaru's tongue. It had released Hinata and the two had flown towards the village again.

"T-Thanks, S-Sasuke" said Hinata, and he nodded.

"What is going on?" he asked her, and she was about to answer, but couldn't as her head connected with a tree branch, causing her to go unconscious.

Sasuke looked at her until they had started lowering themselves towards the ground. When they landed, Hinata's unconscious body had fallen on Sasuke, him having to catch her and the egg. Having no choice he carried her on his back and walked towards the village, egg in hands. He had caught up to an exhausted Naruto, Sakura, Tenten, Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru a few minutes later.

"Hinata! Sasuke!" shouted Naruto, coming to their side.

Sakura had looked at Sasuke with a weird expression on her face from seeing Hinata on Sasuke's back. Something had felt weird to her about it, and it wasn't a good feeling. She shook it off as she ran towards everyone.

"Don't worry about her. She's fine. We have to get back to the village now!" said Sasuke.

Suddenly, another crash had been heard, and they all ran into the village to see the people and their friends staring up at two giant monsters attacking each other like in Konoha. Like in the pictures, they were able to see which one was Dialga and which one was Palkia as the two had attacked each other again, causing a small quake to go through the village.

Dialga had quickly used Hyper beam, but missed, having it hit the ground near the Village of Grass, and it caused Sasuke to drop Hinata and the egg at both times! The quake was so strong that Hinata had flown a couple of feet away from everyone else along with the egg, and everyone had fallen to the ground.

As she hit the ground, Hinata slowly started getting up again, only to see that the egg was next to her, but something was wrong with it…

…The egg had a crack…

She gasped as she picked it up and checked to see if it was damaged anywhere else, but that seemed to be it. The crack was rather big, and right there, in front of everyone, she was about to cry, but something amazing had happened.

The egg had glowed again, but differently this time. It glowed brighter, and the crack had slowly gotten bigger as she still held the egg in her hands. Everyone had looked at her and the egg in shock! The egg was hatching!

As the crack slowly got bigger, the egg was glowing brighter and brighter until the egg exploded with a bright light surrounding her. In her hands was not an egg anymore, but the small pokemon with long pink ears like in the picture of the book Tsunade showed everyone. It opened its big yellow eyes to look at the Hyuuga girl before it.

Hinata had smiled awkwardly at the small pokemon, knowing that she was happy, but this was somewhat unexpected. The small pokemon levitated into the air, and it flew around Hinata happily.

"Mesprit! Meeesprit!" it said happily.

"M…M… Mesprit? I-Is that your name? I thought it was Emrit" said Hinata, and Mesprit nodded at both.

Mesprit suddenly looked at the two pokemon that were fighting before it, and it flew towards the two of them. As it stayed in between them, it glowed a really bright pink, and suddenly, looking as though it were trying really hard, the two pokemon were lifted from the ground by three feet, and suddenly, Mesprit made another blinding glow, having everyone around close their eyes.

When the light died down, Dialga and Palkia were gone again, and Mesprit had started falling from the sky. Hinata saw this and started running to it. Just in the nick of time, she had caught it, letting it sleep in her arms.

"That pokemon's a real tough one. It doesn't matter" said Kabuto, and everyone looked to see him standing on a roof of a house near them. "We already obtained some powerful pokemon from some of your fellows in Konoha. You'd better be ready. We will get those two legendaries"

With that said Kabuto had turned around and left the four teams with shocked faces. They all looked at each other and then to Hinata, who had Mesprit sleeping in her arms. Naruto had broken the ice.

"Wait a minute! Did they attack Konoha while we were all here?" Naruto asked, and everyone looked at him with fear in their eyes.

"I'm sure they didn't take much. Orochimaru's main plan was to come here. It be stupid to call an ambush with out him around, so I'd say that only five ninja at the most would've gone" said Shikamaru. Everyone sighed in relief.

"Hmm… Something bad…" said Sakura, thinking about the stolen pokemon. "…But something good…" she continued, looking at Hinata and Mesprit.

'_Is this what Ino had meant?' _Sakura thought, looking at the crowd hovering around Hinata and Mesprit. She smiled, finally realizing that Ino was right as she was before.

'_Thanks, Ino'_

TBC…

* * *

WillowWitch- I can't believe I actually finished this chapter my tonight! I'm beat!

Hinata- S-So are most of us, Willow-chan

WillowWitch- Alright then! Some of you may know why Emrit is now Mesprit, but if not, then wait until the next chapter and read it to find out! READ! REVIEW! NOW!


	3. The Next Location

WillowWitch- Okay, I've realized that the last chapter was really bad, so I hope this one will be a little better. And I know this update was really late, but I'll explain why later.

Sasuke- When will we start? I've got things to do

WillowWitch- Chill, Sasuke. ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

Ch. 3- The Next Location

As everyone returned from their mission to the Village of Grass, they had noticed that Konoha looked a little different than usual. It looked a little messy, but that's not really shocking knowing about the stolen pokemon. They all had headed straight to Tsunade's office, trying to ignore the damage to certain places.

As they walked in, Tsunade had been sitting in her seat, having to work on paperwork for all the damages done to Konoha. She looked up at them and stood from her seat tiredly.

"Mission success?" she asked, and they all stayed silent, Naruto shrugging.

"Was there any damage done to the village?" she asked.

"Well, not really. The quakes just made a little crack in the ground" said Kiba.

"Hmph, well, you got Dialga and Palkia away from there, so I guess that's a success. As you've seen, Konoha was attacked by Sound Ninja, and pokemon have been taken. The trainers of the pokemon have well indeed been killed, and now that Orochimaru has pokemon, the troubles have only grown harder than they were before" said Tsunade, but then Mesprit had flown in front of her, surprising her.

"Uh, y-yes, Mesprit had hatched" said Hinata.

"Mesprit?" Tsunade asked confused. She took a book off her shelf and looked through the pages. "Oh yes! I was calling it by its Japanese name this whole time. In English, the name is Mesprit, so he'll react to both names"

Mesprit had happily flown over to Hinata and sat on her head (Using a little bit of levitation of course). She laughed at Mesprit as it called out to her happily. Shikamaru, knowing that there were things the Hokage needed to know, had cleared his throat.

"We were able to avoid Orochimaru and fight off his goons from obtaining Dialga and Palkia, but they had disappeared when Mesprit was born" said Shikamaru.

"Good. If he didn't, you wouldn't have finished the mission. We need to do more research on where Dialga and Palkia are going to be seen next" said Tsunade.

"Wait a minute. Mesprit had gotten rid of the two of them, didn't he?" Ino asked.

Tsunade shook her head and gave Ino the book she was looking at. Ino read the four lines Tsunade had pointed to. It had stated that even with how powerful Mesprit is, all three of the legendary pokemon are needed to stop the fight between Dialga and Palkia.

"Oh" said Ino. "That means they're still fighting?"

"Yes, Mesprit had only sent them elsewhere in the Shinobi Region, so until we figure out where their next appearance will be, you should continue training your pokemon. Now that Orochimaru has pokemon, you'll be experiencing true pokemon battles, and that will be a challenge for both you and the pokemon" said Tsunade.

"W-What about Mesprit?" asked Hinata while Mesprit snuggled against her.

Tsunade had approached Hinata with Mesprit in her arms and had attempted to take the small pokemon away from Hinata, but it hadn't worked. As soon as Tsunade had come near Mesprit with her arms stretched out, Mesprit instantly started wailing, causing everyone to cover their ears. Tsunade had backed away slowly from Mesprit and he stopped crying. Everyone looked at Hinata.

"Well, uh, I guess Mesprit is stuck with you, Hinata. We have learned that when pokemon are born, the first person or pokemon they see are considered their mother" said Tsunade.

"So… I-I'm a mother?" Hinata asked, looking at the Mesprit that snuggled against her. She smiled at Mesprit, seeing how cute it was.

"You must take care of Mesprit until the other two come and stop Dialga and Palkia. If there are no further questions, you are dismissed" said Tsunade, and everyone left the room.

* * *

Outside in the training grounds, everyone had called out their pokemon and started to train them accordingly. Naruto and Kiba had gotten competitive to see who was a better pokemon trainer, in which had started their fight. Shino was showing Skorupi his bugs, while Ino was battling with Sakura to see who would win. Tenten decided not to battle anyone seeing as how her Steelix would most likely crush the other pokemon.

Neji and Dusclops were silently meditating, or from what it looked like. Lee had been sparring with Combusken as he did in the Village of Grass. Sasuke thought that fighting his own pokemon would be good practice, and taking Lee's example, he had started fighting Houndour. Shikamaru was having trouble trying to get Slakoth to train, seeing as how the pokemon seemed to be lazier than he was. Chouji and Makuhita were sharing a bag of chips with Chouji's excuse for a healthy dieted pokemon.

Hinata had been rocking a sleeping Mesprit while this had all happened, and when it woke up, it started wailing again. Hinata grabbed a bottle filled with warm milk next to her and fed it to the hungry pokemon. It had silenced itself quickly as it sucked the milk. Mesprit opened its eye to look at Hinata, and it hugged the young Hyuuga girl happily.

"M… M… Ma… ma…" said the little creature, and Hinata stared at Mesprit in shock.

"W-What did you say?" Hinata asked in shock.

"Mama!" said Mesprit, and Hinata hugged it in happiness.

"Aw… Aren't you the cutest thing?" Hinata asked, hugging it.

Naruto and Kiba had ran to Hinata, hearing the little creature speak a human word, and they both had tried petting Mesprit on the head, but when they did, they had stood still for a moment and their eyes had suddenly become blank. Hinata gasped at this and looked at Mesprit. It looked at the two boys questionably.

"Let me guess… They both touched Mesprit, right?" Sakura asked, walking over to Hinata with Ino and their pokemon next to her.

"Y-Yes! I-I don't know how, but- Naruto-kun! Kiba-kun!" Hinata said, panicking.

Sakura knew Hinata was going to panic, especially since Naruto was involved, and therefore shook her in order to get her attention. Hinata stared at Sakura for the sudden action, and Sakura merely smiled kindly at Hinata.

"Relax, Hinata. They're fine. It's just that when you touch Mesprit, you lose your emotions for three days at the most" said Sakura.

"What? How is that? Hinata's been holding Mesprit since it hatched" said Ino.

Seeing the two boys in such a state, everyone around them had come over to see what the commotion was about. Sakura had quickly explained what happened and why the two were in such a dreadful looking state. However, there had been a question from Chouji.

"But how come Hinata can hold Mesprit?" he asked, shoving more chips down his throat.

"Hinata is Mesprit's mother, so maybe that's why it doesn't affect Hinata. It probably affects those who he's not comfortable with, and Naruto and Kiba were a couple of those people" said Sakura.

"So, the two will be like this for three days?" Shino asked.

When Sakura nodded, everyone had looked at each other. Suddenly, everyone had started cheering while Sasuke, Shino, and Neji smirked. Hinata had stared at everyone in complete confusion, and then looked at Kiba and Naruto sympathetically.

"Mesprit, is there a way you can turn them back to normal?" Hinata asked the small creature in her arms. Mesprit smiled and levitated to the two boys and tapped them with one of his fingers. Once it did that, Kiba and Naruto glowed a bright pink and suddenly looked alive again instead of like zombies.

"W-What happened?" Naruto asked, and when everyone heard him say this, they realized what happened, and Sakura had shouted with Ino at the same time.

"NOOOOOO!" they both shouted, and everyone else stayed silent.

"Well, I guess the moment was good while it lasted" said Sasuke.

Hinata had looked at the Uchiha and suddenly remembered the time in the Village of Grass where he had saved her from Orochimaru twice. She had remembered how he stood in front of her with Houndour to protect her and the egg, and then how he had cut Orochimaru's tongue off her leg (Which she was still grossed out by).

"_Don't worry, I got your back" he said, standing in fighting position to block Orochimaru._

"_S-Sasuke" said Hinata and Sasuke had picked her up and jumped away from Orochimaru. They landed in a tree above him, and he looked up at them._

The memory had made Hinata blush a tiny tinge of pink. Mesprit had noticed this look and flew around her for a few moments. All the emotion that its mother was feeling had attracted Mesprit. For Hinata, she had a whole roller coaster of emotions and confusions.

She suddenly wondered how Sasuke must have felt, fighting Orochimaru again, especially after he had been saved by Naruto from his grasp. It must've been hard to fight something you once gave into, and Hinata knew that more than anyone. She always had trouble fighting for what she believed in when it came to missions, but it had been hard because she had always been mocked, beaten, and sometimes the one who was kidnapped. She didn't know how it happened, but before anything could be done, she had already given in to the low self-esteem she bared in her soul.

Everyone had noticed Mesprit's sudden movements and looked at Hinata in confusion. They had all seen Hinata in a spacey mood before, but never like this. This time, there was something different about her that caught everyone's attention.

"Hey Hinata, are you okay? You're all red!" said Naruto, feeling Hinata's head. Of course, Hinata was still keeping her crush on Naruto, therefore, had fallen back and fainted.

"Mes? Mespriiiit?" Mesprit asked, flying over the little Hyuuga girl.

"Ah, don't worry about it, Mesprit. She'll wake up sooner or later" said Kiba, trying to avoid having to touch Mesprit again.

* * *

For the rest of the day, everyone had helped Hinata watch over Mesprit, and some of them (Naruto especially) had kept touching Mesprit on accident, and had ended up losing their emotions. Hinata wouldn't allow them to stay in such a state, however, and asked Mesprit to change them back every time it happened. All day, the Konoha ninja and their pokemon had trained each other while Hinata did more babysitting. It was good for all of them, and they enjoyed every minute they had together. The day had soon come to a close, and everyone had gone home for the night.

At the Hyuuga manor, Hinata and Mesprit had been in her room just seeming to be talking with one another.

"Hey, Mesprit… Can you say 'Love'?" asked Hinata, and Mesprit had tried its hardest to say the word.

"L…Lo…" Mesprit attempted.

"C'mon, you can do it" cheered Hinata.

"Lo…Love?" Mesprit said, and Hinata clapped and hugged the little creature.

"Great job, Mesprit! I'm so proud of you!" said Hinata, happily.

"Meeesprit!" said Mesprit as happily as Hinata said it.

What the two didn't know was that outside of the room, Hinata's cousin Neji had been witnessing the whole scene, and he smiled to himself, knowing that Hinata was actually having fun with a mission instead of struggling like she usually would.

This had gone on for a couple of weeks, and Hinata had enjoyed every minute of it with Mesprit by her side. The two had really been like a mother and her child, and with everyone else helping them, they were all having the time of their lives. Not only were the rest of the Rookie Nine and Gai's Team noticing this, but the whole village was.

It was as if the whole thing was a dream for everyone. A dream that might just be destroyed by the next mission…

* * *

Shizune, Anko, Kurenai, Kakashi, and Asuma were in a room with a map on a table of the Shinobi Region. They seemed to be researching for a certain location of the two legendaries again, and as they were looking, Anko seemed to be getting frustrated. She punched the table and had caused the others to stare at her.

"This is hopeless! Why not just have Mesprit look for the two? After all, it sent to two away in the first place!" said Anko, and Kakashi shook his head.

"You forget, Anko that Mesprit had only just hatched. A human child at the age of that pokemon wouldn't even be able to see, yet. You're overestimating the powers of pokemon" said Kakashi, and Anko scoffed at him.

"Tch, and like YOU'D know much about pokemon? Remember, these creatures haven't been in this Region for centuries, so you wouldn't know a thing about them, either!" said Anko. Kurenai sighed.

"Okay, enough you two. We need to find this next location and quick! If Orochimaru is able to figure out their next sighting before we do, we could all be in danger!" said Kurenai, getting back to work.

"Yeah, well, if you ask me, this whole pokemon business is bogus. There's possibly no chance of the other two even getting here on time!" said Anko, while Tsunade walked in.

"It's all in the hands of fate, Anko. If it was done before, it will be done again" said Tsunade and everyone silenced themselves as they had gone back to work, but it was a little too late for that.

"Got it!" shouted Kurenai, pointing to a spot of the map. Everyone in the room gathered around for this and saw that Kurenai had pointed to the location of the Village Hidden in Waves. They all stared at this location for a minute.

"Hmm… I should let the kids know tomorrow. Their next mission will begin shortly…" said Tsunade, walking out with Shizune right on her tail.

"Tsunade-sama… I've got to ask you why you're letting these kids do this on their own?" Shizune asked, and Tsunade had simply answered.

"… Because one of them will be Hokage, after all, and Hinata is the only one who can hold onto Mesprit until Uxie and Azelf arrive…" Tsunade said, but looked down with a worried expression that Shizune was able to notice…

"Tsunade-sama… Will the… Are the three legendary pokemon gonna have to leave once this is all over?" Shizune asked, knowing exactly what it'll lead to if they do…

"I'm not stupid, Shizune, I already know what'll happen when they do leave… But in order to protect the entire world, not just the Shinobi region, they all must leave together, and that means that sooner or later..." Tsunade paused…

Shizune waited for it, knowing what the next few words were going to be…

"…Hinata will have to let Mesprit go…"

Shizune looked at the ground sadly, then at Tonton. She had taken care of Tsunade's pet pig for a long time. It was as if Tonton was her own, and if she were to lose the little pig, she'd be heartbroken. It was as though Tonton was a little baby that needed caring, and she would care for it more than anyone would, but to lose him…

Shizune can compare to what Hinata will feel sooner or later…

"Tsunade-sama… There's something else…" said Kurenai. Everyone in the room had looked at her, and saw the grim look on her face.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked.

"… I did calculations for their next appearance if the kids don't get rid of them in the Land of Waves, and it turns out that if they don't get rid of Dialga and Palkia then…" she paused.

"Go on" urged Kakashi.

"…They'll be headed for the Sound Village…"

At that, Tsunade's mind went blank.

* * *

Next morning had been a quick one, since Hinata and Mesprit had been dragged out of her own house by Neji and Tenten after breakfast. They had been told about Tsunade's call for a mission, and it had been spread as quickly as how Naruto got up for bed once when Sakura told him she'd treat him to a ramen (They were late for a meeting, so she offered him some to get him up).

"N-Neji-nii-san! P-Please wait! Mesprit is still trying to eat!" said Hinata while still feeding Mesprit with a milk bottle. Neji and Tenten had sighed.

"Hinata, we're late for another mission briefing! They figured out where Dialga and Palkia are going to be sighted next!" said Tenten, and Hinata's eyes widened.

Neji had turned to Hinata, seeing her shocked face, and as he did, he was able to see the worry in her eyes. It was easy to tell that she'd be worried about Mesprit, and how things would turn out if the other two legendary pokemon didn't arrive in time. There was a chance that Mesprit would get hurt, and she knew that. Neji could tell everything that worried her, but he wasn't really good at comforting anyone.

Tenten, however, had seen both of their faces. She looked at Hinata and smiled at her, but Hinata had not been able to see it, being busy with feeding Mesprit and all. Knowing this, Tenten decided to do what was needed.

"Hinata, you shouldn't be so worried! It'll all turn out good, okay?" Tenten said, and Hinata looked at her, still wearing a worried expression.

"Hey, if anything happens…" continued Tenten, "I'll be there with Steelix to protect you, okay? Along with Neji and Dusclops, Naruto and Vulpix, Kiba, Akamaru, and Growlithe, and even Sasuke with Houndour!"

Hearing Sasuke's name had brought Hinata a flashback of what happened in the Village of Grass, and she realized that she hadn't even thanked him for helping her, yet… Now a look of guilt had been pasted on her face, but remembering that Tenten was still looking at her, she smiled.

"Thank you, Tenten" said Hinata, still smiling, even at the thought of Sasuke helping her.

She didn't know what it was, but something about the young Uchiha heir had tugged at her. It had started ever since the day he had protected her from Orochimaru. It felt as though it was Naruto saving her, but differently. When Sasuke had saved her, it seemed like he did it because of a different reason, not that she knew what it was. When Naruto saved her, it was because he already knew her, and knew that he wanted and always will want to save a friend's life.

However, Sasuke and Hinata barely knew each other, and yet, he went through so much just to save her and the egg. Sure, it may have been his mission to do so, but then, why had Naruto not come to her this time? Why was it Sasuke when she hoped for Naruto? Not that she'd want Naruto to get hurt by Orochimaru or see her act like a weak ninja. She was very confused at this point. There was something else…

…She didn't want that for Sasuke, either…

* * *

As the three had arrived into the Hokage's office, Mesprit had playfully flown over to Naruto and pretended to try and touch him, making Naruto jump. When Naruto DID jump, Mesprit had started laughing and floated back over to Hinata again. Tsunade, in her chair, had cleared her throat, getting their attention.

"I'm guessing that you all know why you're called?" she asked, and everyone nodded. "Then I'll get right down to the chase. According to research, Dialga and Palkia are headed for the Village Hidden in Waves. You need to get them away from the village as soon as possible, and keep them away from Orochimaru and his workers. According to Kurenai, who found the location, they'll be there in 5 days, so you must make haste. The Wave Village is not as close as the Village of Grass. This is a mission purely based on time, and that will make it difficult. You know the stakes at risk, so complete this mission successfully. Understood?"

Everyone had nodded at this.

"Dismissed"

Outside of Konoha, everyone had their pokemon out and ready. Tenten had looked at Steelix and smiled, somewhat proud at the fact that he was the biggest around them.

"Well, what shall we do, Shikamaru?" Ino asked, trying not to see Sakura's smirk.

"Hmm… If we don't make it there on time, Orochimaru will get Palkia and Dialga, so we need a mode of quick transportation. Like the last mission, we can't be seen until we make it to the village. Not with our pokemon at least. Any suggestions?" asked Shikamaru.

No one had any suggestions, making Shikamaru sigh with irritation.

"We can't do what we did last time, it'll take too long, especially since the Village is farther than the Grass Village" said Kiba, and Shino nodded.

"We also might have to avoid Orochimaru's ninja, which are probably a lot stronger than us" said Shino.

"We've got a lot to think about, but if we think too long, we'll waste more time!" said Lee.

Suddenly, something had caught everyone's attention. It had been Mesprit, who looked as though he'd been concentrating on something. Hinata looked at Mesprit with concern.

"M- Mesprit?" she said, getting worried.

Suddenly, with no warning, the light had spread all around the Rookie nine and Gai's team. They were lifted from the ground as if they were feathers, along with their pokemon.

"W-What's happening?" shouted Naruto, waving his arms back and forth, causing his hand to hit Sakura.

"Ow! NARUTO!" shouted Sakura, punching Naruto in the head.

As the fight went on, the two had not noticed that when they went back on the ground, something was not right. The trees had looked different, and the ground dirt had looked lighter. Shikamaru had grabbed some of the dirt on the ground and let it run through his fingers.

"Sand…" said Shikamaru, and Sakura went past a couple of trees.

"Look!" she shouted, and everyone followed to see what she was looking at.

They suddenly see a town near the ocean. As the people around it looked happy and went shopping, they also saw the ocean sparkle with an intense shine. The town seemed peaceful and calm, and who would've known what this place was better than Naruto, Shino, and Ino?

"We're …here!" said Naruto.

They had arrived to the Land of Waves.

TBC…

* * *

WillowWitch- I know, I haven't updated this in a while, but school, end of the year, it was really tiring… I also have a busy summer, so I'll be updating a little slower than I used to…

Hinata- P-Please forgive her! S-She really likes working on this story!

WillowWitch- Thanks, Hinata. Well, Read and Review, please!


	4. The Horrifying Ambush

WillowWitch- Hopefully, this chapter is as good as I'd hoped it'd be…

Hinata- D-Don't worry, W-WillowWitch…

WillowWitch- ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

Ch. 4 – The Horrifying Ambush 

Everyone had looked around to see if they really were at the Land of Waves, and in such a quick time. Seeing as how they had still been a great distance from the Land of Waves, they had arrived there in the evening, but the question would still plague the minds of the young ninjas.

How had they gotten there in the first place?

As if she had read their minds, Sakura had cleared her throat. Everyone had looked at her, except for Shikamaru, who had been getting rooms for everyone, knowing they'd be in the Land of Waves for a long time.

"Mesprit must have teleported us. It's a very popular move among psychic pokemon" said Sakura, and everyone had looked at little Mesprit, who had been wrapped in a blanket to avoid anyone seeing him.

"Meeesprit!" the little creature said delightfully.

"B-But in such a quick time? I-I mean learning the move and all? He's still a baby!" said Hinata, trying her hardest to avoid stuttering.

"Well, he IS a legendary pokemon, having his story passed down for generations and all, but that means he has to be famous for SOMETHING. Remember, if that were the case, each of them wouldn't be famous individually. It's like if a ninja team were to become famous- take the Sannin for example. Tsunade wouldn't be famous without her legendary strength and medical skills. It separates her from the rest of the team" said Sakura.

"Oh, so if there wasn't anything unique about each of them, and they were completely the same, then they wouldn't be famous when apart, but when together!" noted Tenten, trying to make a long story short.

"Exactly, and Mesprit is special because of its control on emotions, and its own inner pokemon powers" said Sakura.

"Agh! I don't get it, but whatever! We may be on a mission, but there's really nothing to do until those two pokemon come, and that's in five days! Can we do something but stay in this hotel?" Naruto complained, while everyone sighed.

"Shikamaru?" Ino asked, looking at the lazy ninja who seemed to be considering the possibility. He sighed in mere moments and scratched his head with irritation.

"I guess it wouldn't be bad. Keep your guard up, though. I'm sure Orochimaru and his ninja army are probably working on the location of the two pokemon's location and when they find out, they won't hesitate to go looking for us and try to get rid of us. In this case, we should go in pairs. That way, there'll be protection in case they come, and there'll also be more groups to search the town" Shikamaru had continued briefing them on this plan until they eventually started getting their partners.

"I'll start with Team 7. Naruto will be with Sakura. As teammates, you two are aware of each other's strengths and weaknesses. You also get along … to an extent, anyway… However, your powers are pretty balanced out, and that's what I've decided on doing with you guys. Besides, I believe Naruto will need your medical skills when it comes to how rough he is with most people" He said.

Before Shikamaru could continue, he had to hush everyone due to how they were all holding Naruto back from punching the life out of the lazy ninja. Shikamaru had coughed in order to get everyone's attention again after they had calmed Naruto down.

"Next. Sasuke will be with Hinata"

As he said it, Sakura felt a sudden feeling in her chest. It was a really tight feeling that hurt her. She looked down in order to not let anyone else see how much pain she was in, but something seemed to really bother her about those two. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she still loved Sasuke deeply, or maybe that she was jealous of Hinata whenever they were together, but there was just something wrong…

It was just wrong…

"You two are from powerful clans, and Hinata may have gotten better since the Chuunin exams, but now that she has Mesprit, it'll be harder for her to protect him and do the mission at the same time without dependable help, and you're all I've got. In a case like this, it'd be wise to have Neji with her, but the Byakugan will be needed in at separate times, I'm sure, so he's rolled out. I also think you'd be able to help seeing as how you protected her in the Grass Village"

Sakura barely caught that much of the conversation. Pushing the pain in her chest away, she stood straight and showed that she was determined to finish this important mission. Knowing that this may not be the end of it.

"Other than those two pairs, everyone else should be self explanatory, but if not I'll give you a short explanation on my reasons for the pairings. Kiba and Chouji, I believe that you're both strong enough together. Sorry Chouji, I would've been your partner, but Ino needs the Shadow Possession in order to fight" Chouji and Kiba nodded at this.

"Ino that means you are with me, and I don't like repeating myself as to why" Ino nodded, wondering why they had been together so much lately.

"Shino will be with Lee. Lee, I am aware that you do not possess any genjutsu or ninjutsu, but Shino seems to be a good teammate for anyone… If you don't irritate him… He's good with strategy, so he's like a second in command for me. That leaves Neji and Tenten. You two have worked together since graduating the Academy, and you work well like that. Especially since weapons are your strength, and not any ninjutsu or genjutsu. Your partners have been decided, so be cautious and aware of the surroundings and don't _make any scenes_" said Shikamaru as everyone looked at Naruto and Lee.

"Gotcha!" they said unanimously.

The Land of Waves had been a peaceful village. There were ocean waves crashing around the rocky cliffs or the sandy shores, and the moonlight had sparkled in the ocean. There had also been a festival that night, and they had all decided to go and see what was going on. Staying with their assigned partners, they had played a couple of games and yet, were still able to work as the ninja they all were.

"Oh, look, Shikamaru!" said Ino, going to a booth for Cotton Candy.

"Would you like some? Everything at this festival is free now since it is past midnight" said the booth manager.

"Oh, really? Thank you so much!" she replied, retrieving her cotton candy with a huge grin on her face.

"You're so troublesome. We have a mission here" said Shikamaru.

"Sure, but if you look like you're being too cautious, the locals here will get suspicious! Relax and have a little fun" said Ino, stuffing some cotton candy in his mouth and making him choke.

"cough Urgh cough cough Troublesome womancough" he choked out.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! Come on! At least try a little bit!" Ino urged trying to shove more into his mouth.

"And the chunk you shoved down earlier wasn't enough?" Shikamaru sassed at Ino, causing her to stick her tongue out at him. He chuckled.

"Troublesome…"

* * *

"Hmm… The food here is GREAT!" said Chouji, stuffing his mouth with sushi. 

"Geez, Chouji. Take it easy! You'll get… well, I'm not continuing that sentence, but whatever! Just stop! We're in public here!" said Kiba, trying to refrain his friend from eating all the food at the festival.

* * *

"Naruto, can you at least show some manners here?" Sakura pleaded to her teammate, inwardly asking why she was paired up with Naruto AGAIN. 

"W-Wut Shakra! I wawwa eawt! Ish sho gud!" said Naruto with a stuffed mouth.

Sakura instantly punched him for getting food on her.

"DON'T TALK WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL!" she shouted, and Naruto laughed after swallowing. She glared a deadly glare at him.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked, dangerously.

"Now YOU'RE the one who needs manners!" he kept on laughing until Sakura ended up punching him once again, shutting him up.

* * *

"OW!" 

"It's common for the foolhardy to be so arrogant as to disturb such peaceful creatures" said Shino, putting an ointment on Lee's arm.

"Bees are NOT peaceful! They waste their youth stinging people with their… their… STINGERS!" shouted Lee, trying not to shout at the pain of the ointment.

"Please refrain yourself from shouting in such a public area. It's rather humiliating for a ninja to make such an embarrassment of himself when in the presence of others" Shino calmly said to his partner.

Lee sighed, but endured the pain anyway. "Fine, but I'm staying away from flowers from now on" said Lee, standing up after Shino placed a bandage on his cheek.

"That may be wise" replied Shino.

* * *

"Neji, please! Sasuke is not gonna attack your cousin during a festival!" said Tenten, trying to get her partner to relax a little. 

"I'm not taking any chances, Tenten. I don't trust that Uchiha" replied Neji, trying to find out where his cousin and the young Uchiha went.

Tenten just sighed. She knew how overprotective Neji was when it came to the Hyuuga Heiress, but this was going way out of proportion. This was their mission for Pete's sake! And they'd be here for four more days! Seriously, Tenten was going to grow wrinkles trying to calm her fellow ninja down. Sighing she just grabbed his arm and dragged him to a food stand.

* * *

"Wow, how cute!" said Hinata, looking at fish in a fish tank at a booth, especially the orange one with choppy looking fins that looked like Naruto. 

The little orange fish looked at her, and she was able to notice that the gills it had looked like the whiskers on Naruto's face. She smiled at the thought of a fish that looked like Naruto. As she kept staring at the orange fish, Mesprit, still under the blanket, and lightly touched the glass of the fish tank. It seemed to have noticed another fish.

Hinata, wanting to see the object of Mesprit's interest, had looked through the tank to see what it saw. However, what she saw was a black fish with choppy fins like the orange one. The difference was that the fins of this fish had been longer than the orange one. They seemed longer and more flowing than the one that reminded her of Naruto. Now that she thought about it, the fish she was looking at now…

…reminded her of Sasuke…

She just couldn't stop thinking about that guy right now! ESPECIALLY since Sasuke is her travel partner for this mission! She inwardly cursed Shikamaru for doing this to her. However, she won't complain. What could she say? She didn't even know why thinking about him had bothered her!

Mesprit caught his mother looking like she had been in a garbage dump for days. He wanted to float up to her and see what was bothering her, but the fact that the blanket was nearly covering his entire body had kept him from doing so.

"Um, are you going to stare at those fish all day?"

Hinata nearly jumped, realizing that her partner had returned from his trip to the bathroom. She almost sighed with irritation, but knew that it would be rude and decided to not try it.

"S-Sorry, I'm just trying t-to pick one to get" said Hinata, faking a smile.

"We'll be here for four more days. This festival will be up for four more days. Just wait 'til after the mission to get one" said Sasuke, turning away from the Hyuuga heiress.

"Right… Sorry" said Hinata, causing Sasuke to look at her.

"Why do you do that?" he asked her, staring at her as if something was wrong with her.

"W-What?" she asked back, not understanding the question.

"Why do you apologize all the time? It's not like it's that big of a deal" said Sasuke, and she looked at the ground. She took a deep breath.

"W-Well, it's hard for me to explain… B-Basically, I guess it's because I've felt ever since I was little that everything I did was wrong… And it would disappoint most people… Many people… I-I guess now whenever someone complains about something I do, I apologize for causing anymore disappointment" she stuttered.

Suddenly, she covered her mouth. She didn't know why, but she had opened up to someone that she barely eve knew! She told him something that she wasn't even sure was true or not, but yet, it felt right. It felt as though telling him would help her. But who was she kidding? This is Sasuke Uchiha we're talking about! He doesn't care about anyone but himself… Well, mainly because he's had no one to care about since the incident with his family…

"That's pretty understandable"

She instantly looked at him with the biggest eyes full of shock that can ever be imagined. Did she hear what she thought she heard? Seeing the look on her face, Sasuke sighed and continued his… lecture?

"You're saying that due to mistakes you've made in the past you try making up for them now with apologizing for any more damage that you do. However, even if it is understandable, it won't win people over. It'll only show that you're kind and gentle. To some, it may not be a bad thing, but because you're a Hyuuga, it's probably not a tolerable thing. Am I right?" he asked her, leaving her speechless.

How did he know so much? He may be the great Sasuke Uchiha, but he seems to understand what she's trying to avoid! How can he know so much about her? Seeing as how he didn't get a reply, Sasuke took it as a yes.

"B-But how do you… know so much?" Hinata asked him, and he turned his gaze towards the ground.

"…Because being in a famous clan… makes you feel more like a prisoner than a ruler…" said Sasuke, but realizing what he had just said caused him to put his hand over his mouth.

He had hoped that Hinata didn't hear what he had just said, but it was too late. The damage was done, and there's no taking it back now. She stared at him blankly, and he knew that there would be some teasing or mocking coming… But it never came… It had made him curious, and he looked at Hinata, expecting her to be holding back laughter along with Mesprit…

…But instead, he got a sad look…

"W-What's with that look?" he asked her.

"It's alright, I understand… I'm guessing that your family didn't appreciate you, either?" she asked him, wishing she hadn't, knowing that the question sounded rude.

He looked at her with a look that said he was deciding whether or not he could trust her. He just met her not too long ago! Maybe not even a month! But now it seems as though he can tell her anything, and she'd keep them secret… What would've been the harm?

"…My family appreciated me… all except for my father… Whenever I think about him now… all I can remember is when he'd say 'Be more like your brother'…"

Hearing that, Hinata looked down, knowing the feeling. She knew that feeling twice as much as Sasuke did, knowing she had two people her father wanted her to be like… Neji and Hanabi… She knew she should not have been the first one to be born… But what could she do now?

"However, I chose not to be like my brother" Sasuke said suddenly.

She looked up at him.

"All the time I had with my father. He'd tell me to be like my brother… Before they had all been killed, my father had told me to not be like my brother… and I never knew why until… Well, it doesn't matter… What mattered was that I knew I couldn't be like my brother, so I never tried. All I tried to do was be better than him… After the incident, I knew I made the right choice, and I've been trying ever since… I've thought about giving up, but then I met Naruto, who taught me never to give up. Heh, I wonder what would've happened if I had not realized the consequences of working with someone as foul as Orochimaru…" he said.

"I think N-Naruto would've gotten you out of his grasp" said Hinata, surprising him. "He's like that, isn't he? He's always so kind, strong, confident… Everything I wish I was" said Hinata.

Sasuke had kept pondering on why he and Hinata have been talking so much lately. They almost seemed like friends to each other.

'_Friends…'_ he thought, nearly smiling. As far as he was concerned, the only friend he had were Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi… It made his heart warm up knowing that he had a new one, now…

While they've been talking this whole time, they hadn't noticed that they've walked towards the coast together. Hinata looked around and realized this, and her face beamed at the sight of the full moon reflecting off the dark blue ocean. Sasuke looked at the blue ocean and the moon, then at Hinata, and his eyes widened.

Hinata's hair had flowed with the wind that came gusting by. Even if her hair was short, you could see waves as it was blown by the wind, and her eyes seemed to reflect the light of the moon. It was as if the scene before the both of them had been reflected off on her. It was a pretty sight actually. But he's going to keep that to himself.

Suddenly, Mesprit (almost asleep at the boredom of the scene) had jolted up and looked around. There was something near that bothered him.

* * *

Off with the others, Sakura's Skitty, who'd been let out of its pokeball, had suddenly started growling. Sakura, Naruto, Neji, and Tenten (Who had met up with them) had noticed Skitty's odd behavior, and felt that something was wrong. They all got up and separated into their pairs to search for the others. Obviously, Kiba's Growlithe and Akamaru had felt the same feeling, for Sakura and Naruto immediately ran into him and Chouji. 

"Kiba, Chouji! There's something bothering Skitty!" said Sakura.

"Yeah, Growlithe and Akamaru are pretty edgy themselves. We gotta get everyone else!" said Kiba, leading the way along with Naruto to find others.

* * *

Meanwhile, Neji and Tenten had run into Ino and Shikamaru. They had explained the odd behavior Skitty had and had gone together to search for everyone else. However, after a few minutes, they ran into Sakura and Naruto, who had Kiba, Chouji, Lee, and Shino with them. 

"Whoa, wait a minute, there's a pair missing" Shikamaru pointed out, and everyone looked around.

"Where're Sasuke and Hinata?" Kiba asked, looking around.

"We figured you found them" said Sakura, pointing to Tenten, Neji, Shikamaru, and Ino.

"No, we tried, but we ended up running into you guys" said Ino.

Horror struck their faces as they all separated into their pairs once again to find the missing pair and Mesprit. However, they probably weren't ready for the horrifying thing that was about to happen.

* * *

With Sasuke and Hinata, they had immediately noticed Mesprit's discomfort once he started fidgeting and squirming. Hinata had looked around to see if there were any locals watching. Finding no one around, she let Mesprit out of his blanket and watched as he looked around for anything suspicious. However, Sasuke beat him to it, sensing a high level of chakra around them. 

"Keep up your guard. There's someone here" said Sasuke, and Hinata immediately tried to use her Byakugan.

However, before she could even see through the trees, a big splash was heard behind them. A Gyarados had sprung from the water and looked at Hinata, Sasuke, and Mesprit with the scariest look a Gyarados could ever have.

On it's back was a ninja, and Sasuke could tell from far away that it was a Sound ninja. He immediately threw a couple of kunai's at the Sound ninja, but Gyarados had used water gun on them, blasting them back and getting the three of them drenched. Hinata grabbed Mesprit to see if he'd gotten hurt, but his levitating body had assured her that he was okay.

Suddenly, more Sound ninja had appeared and let out their stolen pokemon. Looking around, Sasuke could see that they each had one pokemon, and he could see a Tropius, Infernape, Hippowdon, Alakazam, Banette, Rhyhorn, and a Charizard. All the ninja and their pokemon stared down at the two Konoha ninja and Mesprit. Sasuke immediately brought out Houndour.

"It's no use in bringing out your pokemon, brat! We've got you outnumbered!" said a Sound ninja.

"So let's even the odds!"

Hinata and Sasuke suddenly looked to see the rest of the Konoha 12 running towards them. Hinata smiled happily, knowing that now they might've stood a chance. However, Sasuke knew better. He knew that these ninja were still at a higher level then them, and so were their pokemon. He knew this was going to be harder than they thought, but what else could they do?

"Alright, let's see what these ninja got!" shouted Naruto, bringing out Vulpix.

* * *

Unknown to them, far away from the Shinobi region, there was a small green pokemon headed for the Shinobi region, and its eyes glowed with a fire of determination. It flew with a speed faster than a jet, and it looked as though it was headed for Konoha. Knowing its mission, it flew even faster towards the Hidden Village.

* * *

Back with the others, Kiba and Akamaru, and Growlithe had been fighting with the Banette, Ino, Oddish, Sakura, and Skitty had been fighting with the Hippowdon, Neji and Dusclops had been fighting the Alakazam, Shino and Skorupi had been fighting the Tropius, Tenten, Steelix, Lee, and Combusken had been fighting Rhyhorn, Chouji, Makuhita, Shikamaru, and Slakoth had been fighting Infernape. Sasuke, Houndour, Naruto, and Vulpix had been fighting Charizard, but Sasuke also tried staying by Hinata's side with Mesprit. 

As Hinata watched the whole scene, she felt helpless again. Everyone had been struggling with their pokemon battles. However, while watching everyone fight, she had forgotten about the ninja with the Gyarados who was right behind her. He had put a cloth over her mouth while Sasuke and the others weren't watching, causing her to get knocked out, and fell forward. However, the ninja had caught her and jumped onto Gyarados with her. Mesprit had followed, but still being a baby pokemon, he didn't have that much control of his powers just yet.

"MEEEEESPRIIIIT!" he shouted, getting the other's attention.

"Grr… Shut up you little nuisance, or mommy won't be waking up!" the Sound ninja said, holding a kunai at her throat. Mesprit stood in its place looking horrified at the ninja who had his mother.

Along with Mesprit, all of Konoha 12 had stared at the ninja with the unconscious Hinata in his grasp. All of the battling had stopped and the Sound ninja had returned their pokemon and retreated.

"We've got what we wanted, so we'll let you live for now!" shouted the Sound ninja on the Gyarados. With a snap, Gyarados had swam far out to sea and when far enough from the Konoha 12, the Gyarados started swimming along the coast, almost out of sight.

"We can't just sit here, we gotta help her!" shouted Ino.

"We can't swim to her when the ninja has that water pokemon! What do we do? Tsunade never gave any of us water OR flying pokemon!" shouted Naruto.

"We can't walk on the ocean, either! They're too far! It would take too much chakra!" said Sakura.

"… What can we do?" Sasuke asked to no one in particular. However, his thoughts had been interrupted when everyone noticed Mesprit heading towards its kidnapped mother and her kidnapper. "MESPRIT! Come back here!"

However, Mesprit did not listen to any of their calls. Its mother is being taken away from him, and he had to do something about it. Mesprit quickly followed the Gyarados, and didn't stop until it was slowly reaching its destination. The Sound ninja with Hinata in his arms had looked back to see the legendary pokemon on his tail, and threw a kunai at him. Mesprit had quickly dodged it and kept on going. He wasn't going to give up.

Suddenly, realizing that Mesprit wasn't going to leave, the Sound ninja realized something else when being briefed on this mission.

* * *

"_Lord Orochimaru! Those Konoha ninja were sighted in the Land of the Waves!" said the Sound ninja._

"_Heh heh heh … Gooood… Now all we have to do now is get that girl…" hissed Orochimaru._

"_The girl? With the legendary pokemon? Sir, what are we gonna do with her?" asked the sound ninja._

"_We'll either use her to bring Mesprit to us… Or if the plan fails, then get rid of her. If she were to die, Mesprit would be devastated and try to take revenge. Being the pokemon of emotion, I'm sure that he'd feel as angry as to try and kill us all" noted Orochimaru._

"_Sir!" said the Sound ninja, frightened at the last few words._

"_But he won't do it. I'm rather… persuasive, after all" said Orochimaru, laughing afterwards._

* * *

Remembering that, the Sound ninja smirked and without warning, threw the unconscious Hinata off of Gyarados and into the ocean blue. Mesprit's eyes had widened like everyone else's would've if it weren't for the fact that they couldn't see anything from so far… However, Neji could with the Byakugan, and his eyes had widened with Mesprit's eyes. 

"HINATA!" he shouted, causing everyone to look at him.

"Neji, what happened?" Tenten asked, until she noticed Neji trying to get in the ocean and swim.

She immediately followed him and grabbed his arm, pulling him back against his will. She held onto him along with Lee, Kiba, and Shikamaru. This was starting to irritate Tenten.

"What are you doing?" she shouted at him.

"That Sound ninja threw her! He threw her into the ocean! She was still unconscious!" shouted Neji, trying to get out of their grasp, but with no avail.

Everyone's eyes had widened at the sudden news, and looked out at the tiny image of Mesprit frantically levitating over where Hinata had been thrown. Having had enough of standing around, Sasuke had immediately ran towards the ocean, too fast for anyone to grab him like they did Neji (Lee could've caught him, but was too crowded with trying to hold onto Neji).

He instantly started swimming, ignoring everyone's calls of trying to get him back on land. He didn't know why he was doing this, but there was something about Hinata that he didn't want to go to waste. To him, she wasn't like most girls. He knew about her little crush on Naruto, but maybe that was what caught his attention. She sees people for who they are, and she also saw who he was instead of what he seemed to be. In fact, to him, she may have been better than Sakura.

"_W-Well, it's hard for me to explain… B-Basically, I guess it's because I've felt ever since I was little that everything I did was wrong… And it would disappoint most people… Many people… I-I guess now whenever someone complains about something I do, I apologize for causing anymore disappointment"_

Sakura only saw him as a guy she thought was hot. In fact, he knew that if it weren't for them being on the same team, she never would've gotten to know him like she does now. If it weren't for them being a team, she would've treated him just like Ino and the other girls do…

"_It's alright, I understand… I'm guessing that your family didn't appreciate you, either?"_

He remembered their conversation earlier, and he can't get it off his mind. She was the first person other than Naruto that he just couldn't let go like this. He wanted her alive. He wanted her to talk with him more. Just like a friend would. Just like all friends would. He wasn't even sure if she considered them friends, but that was even more reason for him to want her to live. He wanted to know what she thought of him. It was funny what a simple conversation could do to people, huh? Well, this is what happened after a conversation between Sasuke and Hinata.

"_He's like that, isn't he? He's always so kind, strong, confident… Everything I wish I was"_

Suddenly, Sasuke felt his arms growing weak. He couldn't swim for very long. He grew tired, and after three more strokes, he was near his limit. However, he wouldn't give up that easily. He remembers how hard she tried in the Chuunin exams. He wasn't there to watch it, but the battles were the talk of the town afterwards during the month before the Final Exams.

He heard about Rock Lee's battle against Gaara, Naruto and Kiba's battle, Sakura and Ino (Which didn't shock him, not that you could tell), and the battle between the two Hyuuga's… She was pretty weak back then, but he's heard of improvements, and realized that she tried so hard because she wanted more than anything to be Naruto's friend, and make him notice her. Well, now…

… It's him who wants to be noticed, and it's him who wants to be friends with her…

As he swam closer and closer to where Hinata had been drowning, his arms grew even more tired then they were before, and they grew so weak that he couldn't even move them anymore. He eventually started sinking, and didn't even notice it. Eventually, he was losing breath, and started losing vision. He was disappointed in himself. He was dying, and he couldn't even do the one thing he wanted so desperately to do…

...He wanted to save Hinata… If only to make sure she lived…

However, having lost his vision, he wasn't able to notice the underwater creature that swam around him. As it swam, it picked up Sasuke and brought him up to the surface. With a loud splash, Sasuke was brought above the water and he started coughing. He didn't notice the woman next to him. That is, until he looked at her.

"Hey, Uchiha! Since when did you try to be a hero?"

He looked up at the person who spoke to him, knowing that he heard it somewhere. When he was able to breathe and see again, he saw a woman with purple hair in a ponytail along with a smug grin that Naruto usually wears.

"A-Anko-sensei" Sasuke choked out, remembering her from the Chuunin exams.

"Yup, and it looks like you were doing something as stupid as to cause you to nearly die. Don't you think, Wailmer?" she asked her pokemon, which lifted the both of them up.

"H-How are you not wet?" asked Sasuke, coughing up more water.

Anko could only laugh as she pointed up. Looking up, he was able to see a giant dragon like pokemon above him and Anko. On top of the dragon's back was his own teacher.

"Kakashi- sensei!" shouted Sakura and Naruto from where they stood on the beach.

"Gai-sensei!" said Lee, seeing his teacher right behind him with his pokemon Machamp.

"Lee!" said Gai, giving Lee the 'nice guy' look. Lee had gladly returned it.

Everyone had looked back to the scene on the ocean.

"Well, that would've been nasty thing to explain when we return to Konoha, right Salamence?" Kakashi asked his pokemon, and it roared in response.

"What about the other sensei's?" Sasuke asked. Kakashi had pointed to the back of him for Sasuke to see Kurenai and Asuma sitting behind him on Salamence.

"Where's Hinata?" Kurenai asked worriedly.

"She was unconscious and thrown into the ocean where Mesprit is!" shouted Sasuke. Normally, he would've said to let him handle it, but he doesn't have the time to be ignorant. Hinata's life was on the line, and she was sinking with every passing second.

"Dragonair! Go help Hinata!" shouted Kurenai, throwing a pokeball towards the ocean. A light could be seen through the water, and out came a beautiful blue sea snake with a gem on its neck, and two wing looking things on the sides of its head. It dove into the ocean, searching for the unconscious Hyuuga Heiress.

* * *

Deep within the ocean, the unconscious Hinata Hyuuga had been slowly sinking into the depths below. She couldn't feel anything at the moment, but slowly she had started to open her eyes. However, she was still drugged by the cloth, and couldn't move her arms or legs. She could only watch half-awake as she had kept sinking. 

However, she knew what was happening. Slowly, she was dying. There was no air around for her to breathe, and with how deep the water is, even if she were able to move her arms and legs again, she wouldn't be able to get back up to the surface in time. She could barely feel the tiny drops that came from her eyes, knowing that she'd never see anyone of her friends again. She closed her eyes, and welcomed the waiting death. She figured that no one would miss her. Not even Naruto…

'_Naruto'_ she thought… _'Wait a minute… Naruto wouldn't give up like this! Neither would Sasuke!' _

Thinking of the raven-haired boy, she remembered their conversation earlier…

"_That's pretty understandable"_

_"…Because being in a famous clan… makes you feel more like a prisoner than a ruler…"_

She couldn't believe it… There was someone other than Naruto that knew what she went through… What was more surprising was that it was the infamous Uchiha Sasuke! However, she knew there had to be a reason for his lone-wolf behavior…

"…_My family appreciated me… all except for my father… Whenever I think about him now… all I can remember is when he'd say 'Be more like your brother'…"_

But how was she to guess that it was almost the same reason as hers? She heard all about her infamous brother, but she never knew how his father treated him. If she were as strong as the Uchiha, maybe her father wouldn't resent her as much. Then again, like her, he was compared to someone much stronger than her.

"_However, I chose not to be like my brother"_

That was something about Sasuke that caught her attention. Unlike her, he chose a different path then giving in and trying to be someone else. Now that she thought about it, she was weak all along. How could she try to be someone else? It was impossible, and she only realized it now… How much of an idiot could she have been?

"_All the time I had with my father. He'd tell me to be like my brother… Before they had all been killed, my father had told me to not be like my brother… and I never knew why until… Well, it doesn't matter… What mattered was that I knew I couldn't be like my brother, so I never tried. All I tried to do was be better than him… After the incident, I knew I made the right choice, and I've been trying ever since… I've thought about giving up, but then I met Naruto, who taught me never to give up. Heh, I wonder what would've happened if I had not realized the consequences of working with someone as foul as Orochimaru…"_

No, now she knew that all this time, trying to be like Neji, Hanabi, or Naruto was the wrong way to go. She knew now that she couldn't be like anybody else, no matter how hard she tried. She could only become better or worse. She wanted to become better! She wanted to impress people with her own skills that only she could develop! If she was going to be anybody…

…She was going to be herself! And right now, what she wanted wasn't to die, but to return to those she cared about! And to show them what she learned and what she will soon become!

With all this thinking, Hinata had suddenly been able to move her arms and legs. She knew how deep she was in the ocean, but she didn't care. If she didn't try, she'd never know, and so she started swimming up towards the surface of the ocean. Trying her hardest with every stroke in order to get to the top and see the ones she cared about the most. With every stroke, she remembered the good times she had with everyone, and their pokemon, and Mesprit. She wasn't going to leave him just yet! She had to take care of him! She had a mission!

She coughed, but couldn't breathe anything in. She was losing more breath than she had before! She tried swimming faster, but the faster she tried to be, the more breath she was losing, and the more she was losing her life. Her heart didn't want to give up, but not even her heart could push her any further to the surface. She was going to die for real this time. Not even her hopes and determination could get her out of this…

Suddenly, out of nowhere, something had swum underneath her and pushed her up to the surface just like Sasuke before. Before she realized what was happening, she was out of the ocean and in the air. Coughing out the water she had swallowed, she panted hard. Trying to catch her breath again. She looked to see Dragonair. Soon Mesprit had flown to her and she hugged him as if her life had depended on it. Happiness had filled her heart as she saw everyone around her as she was brought back to land by Dragonair.

She was surprised to see the sensei's around with their pokemon. Kakashi and his Salamence, Kurenai and her Dragonair, Anko and her Wailmer, Gai and his Machamp, and Asuma with his Aggron. Along with everyone else, Hinata had smiled, and surprising everyone, she had started crying.

"Hinata, what's wrong?" asked Tenten, comforting her friend.

"I…I'm just so… h-happy… to know that I can still… see you guys!" she cried, sobbing happily while everyone else smiled at her.

…Especially Sasuke…

* * *

TBC… 

WillowWitch- Whew! I'm glad that chapter is finally over! Sorry for making everyone wait! I had a busy summer, and I didn't get a break whatsoever, so I tried extra hard to finish this for you guys! Hope you like it! Review please! Since I start school tomorrow, I'm not going to start on the next chapter right away, but I'll finish this story! Count on that! 'Til next time! Bye! Like I said! REVIEW!


	5. Sakura's Last Straw

WillowWitch- Hi everyone! How're things? Well, I know see that everyone is putting this story on their Favorite Story's list, or putting me in their Favorite Author's list, and thanks to those people, I'm going to be more inspired in making stories! Hope you're all still reading!

Hinata- H-However, like the ACTUAL show, this story will also be based around other characters of the show, s-so naturally there will be some chapters mainly about or in the POV of one character

WillowWitch- Yeah, and just so that I won't have to do this anymore, my fifth chapter will be about Sakura… I am irritated with Sakura, and since there ARE other fans of the show that DO hate her, please bare with me because there are things about her in this story that can be dramatic. She won't be bashing or anything… I think… But please enjoy anyway! ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

Ch. 5- Sakura's Last Straw

It had been one day since the ambush and the sensei's had decided on joining their little mission in the Land of Waves. There had been two more days before that appearance of Dialga and Palkia. The people had heard of the commotion, but it had all been brushed off as a simple earthquake. However, because of the attack, everyone had been on high guard now that the Sound ninja were in the Land of Waves.

Sakura Haruno had gone out on a grocery shopping trip with Tenten, and Neji had stuck with Naruto for the time being. They had been conversing about the last night, and were quite worried as to what could possibly happen after that. Tenten wasn't too worried, since everyone would be more aware now, but Sakura knew better.

"But what will happen if Orochimaru shows up next time? It'll be worse!" said Sakura, and Tenten just shook her head.

"There's a difference now. We have our sensei's! And their pokemon are at top evolution, right?" Tenten asked, but Sakura shook her head.

"No, Anko-sensei's Wailmer is a rookie pokemon. And Kurenai-sensei's Dragonair is at its second evolution. It can evolve once more. That doesn't matter, though! We have a mission! To protect Mesprit and get rid of Palkia and Dialga!" said Sakura.

"Sure, but why are you so freaked out about it, Sakura? This isn't like you" said Tenten.

Sakura stayed silent, and Tenten noticed a disturbed look on her face. It wasn't just from the mission, and she could tell. As they had been talking, Sakura had noticed that Sasuke, Hinata, and Mesprit were walking along side the beach coast. As Sakura looked at them, she could tell that they had been talking for a while. She knew that it was part of the mission for them to stay together at all times, but she just didn't like it.

"Sakura, if it really bugs you, why don't you talk to Sasuke about it?" Tenten asked.

"I… I don't know… I think he'd… get mad" said Sakura, and Tenten stared at her.

"You're still thinking about the day he left? C'mon, Sakura, get real. He DID come back after all! Immediately! Remember? He explained to us that Orochimaru wanted him to die, and he decided against it! What's there to be mad about now? You're just kinda bothered by him staying with Hina-" Tenten continued, but stopped, now having everything click.

She looked at Sakura as if she were the most pathetic thing in the world.

"Sakura, you still love him? After all he's said to you?" Tenten asked, and Sakura didn't say anything. "Is that why him being with Hinata troubles you? You're jealous of Hinata?"

"It's… not fair. We're teammates, but he always treated me like I was a nuisance and nothing more. It's like he knew about my feelings, but he didn't care" said Sakura, and Tenten looked down, wondering as to what to say to her friend next.

"Um, I don't know what to say, Sakura. I DO know that you have to do something. This is bothering you, and it shouldn't be brushed off, and you know it as well as I" said Tenten.

Sakura looked down. She knew Tenten was right in telling her to tell him how she felt, but what if it were to be just another replay of _that night_? The night where he told her she was annoying… She didn't want it again, but she didn't want this to go on. It was like a kid who didn't want to go in the dark because of fear. What was she to do? She REALLY wanted to tell him, but… How could she go through the pain again?

Slowly, Sakura had walked away from Tenten and towards the two ninja that had Mesprit with them. With each step that she took, the weight on her shoulders seemed to grow heavier, heavier and heavier until she had eventually caught up with Sasuke, Hinata, and Mesprit. As she walked to them, Sasuke and Hinata had noticed her, and Hinata waved kindly.

"Hello, Sakura. How's shopping?" Hinata asked, knowing about the temporary switch.

"Oh, um… I-It was… g-good…" said Sakura, stuttering without even knowing it. With this, Sasuke could sense something that didn't seem right.

Suddenly, as if something had been shoved through her heart, Sakura's eyes were starting to water, and she didn't know why. Suddenly, she started growing a sudden irritation for Hinata. She always saw the two of them together all the time, smiling, laughing, and having fun together. There was a tugging at her soul. There was a pain that wouldn't go away. There was something. It was something she didn't like, and now it was making her cry.

"N-Never mind! I- I'll tell you later!" she said suddenly, turning around and running as far as she possibly could, passing Tenten.

As Hinata and Sasuke watched Sakura run away from them, Mesprit had suddenly lowered itself from the air and landed in Hinata's arms with an odd look on his face. He looked a little weak… As if tired, but in a different way that had worried Hinata.

"Mesprit? Mesprit? What's wrong?" Hinata asked Mesprit, but Mesprit hadn't replied. He just sat in her arms with that weak expression on his face.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sakura had still been running. She had been running for a while, knowing that no one would follow her, including Sasuke.

'_He's so busy with Hinata!'_ she thought as she continued sobbing while running.

Later, her legs couldn't run anymore, and she collapsed near the ocean coast, tasting the salt in her tears that could very well blend with the ocean water. As she cried her soul out, she thought more about how much pain she had been that night when Sasuke had left. The pain of the next day that included how she couldn't help Shikamaru and his team bring him back. That pain was a pain that she couldn't forget, and it could never be erased.

'_W-Why? WHY?'_

Then she had thought of when Hinata and Sasuke started getting closer to each other, and how they started to become friends. She didn't like it and she never liked it. She really cared about Sasuke, and yet, he only saw Hinata, who never saw him at all. Why did this happen? Why was this feeling hurting her more than usual?

'_He never had time for me… Why is she the one Sasuke cares about so much? I LOVE HIM!'_

Before she knew it, she had cried herself to sleep near the shore, letting the water moist the soles of her shoes and the wind blow through her face.

'_So… Why her…?'_

She wasn't ready for the dream she was about to see…

* * *

_Sakura had woken up in the middle of night near the beach. Realizing this, she had gotten up and dusted herself of sand and turned to run back into the village. There was a problem, though… The village wasn't there! There WAS a village where she stood, but it wasn't the Village of the Waves! This village had an eerie thing about it… There were thunderstorms surrounding it, and it was dark. _

_Suddenly, she saw that there were people headed for the village. As she looked closer, she saw that it was her and the others… But…_

_Not all of them were there…_

_She saw that Ino, Tenten, Shino, Chouji, and Neji weren't there with them. She had wondered why, but it hadn't mattered now. She wanted to know what was happening. She had followed them into the village, and soon saw that they were all separating again. Hinata and Sasuke had gone with Kurenai-sensei in one direction, Kakashi-sensei, herself, and Naruto in another. Then Kiba, Lee, and Gai-sensei in another direction, and Shikamaru with Asuma-sensei in the last direction. _

_At the moment, Sakura had not known who to follow. But in the end, she followed Hinata, Sasuke, and Kurenai-sensei. She had followed them down the path until she saw that a bunch of ninja had attacked them, but Kurenai-sensei had held them off as Sasuke and Hinata ran past them all. Sakura kept following them until Sasuke had been cut-off by someone. _

_It was another ninja, and Sasuke had yelled at Hinata, probably telling her to keep going, and she did so. Sakura followed Hinata, trying to figure out what was going on. As she followed Hinata down the corridor, she had noticed Hinata had stopped at a door. She had hesitated, but opened the door and found that she had been in an open room that was not lighted. She looked around, as if she had been looking for something. _

_Suddenly, two bright lights had shown, and Hinata suddenly started crying while running to them. However, she had been interrupted when she had been attacked… Sakura couldn't tell who it was that attacked her, but she knew that Hinata had no other choice but to fight.  
_

_Hinata started trying to fight the attacker, but he had been to strong for her, and suddenly, he had ended up stabbing Hinata in the gut with a kunai. Sakura just stood there shocked, while Hinata fell to the ground. She ran to Hinata and stared as the blood had poured all over the floor. _

_This wasn't happening! Hinata was dying, and no one was around to help her! Not even Sasuke or Naruto! She couldn't let this happen. She had put her hands up and tried using her medical jutsu to heal her. Unfortunately, she had realized that this was a dream, and she could only watch as Hinata's pale and lifeless body poured more blood, and the two lights had grown brighter for some reason. She looked up, and now there weren't only two anymore, but THREE! She didn't get why, and she wouldn't be able to…_

…

* * *

Sakura had woken her eyes, noticing that she was back at the beach again. She turned around, and the Land of Waves had been where it was earlier, and she sighed with relief. However, she was still disturbed by the dream she just had, and wondered if something was going to happen.

Before she could think any further on this, Sakura had heard Tenten's shouting and turned around. Tenten had run to her with a worried expression on her face.

"Sakura, are you alright? You just ran past everyone with tears!" said Tenten.

"Oh… um, yeah… I'm alright" said Sakura, faking a smile.

"Sakura, I know that's a lie… I know you're sad" said Tenten, putting her hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"… Yeah, well… There are worse things that could happen" said Sakura, faking another smile. Tenten knew she shouldn't push it any further, and went to her other news.

"I'm still not convinced, but there's something else you need to know!" said Tenten, getting Sakura's confused face.

* * *

At the Inn everyone was staying at, Hinata had been in her, Ino, Sakura, and Tenten's room. She had been sitting in her bed with Mesprit in her arms, and rocking him gently. He still had that weak expression on his face. Sakura and Tenten had entered the room.

"Sakura, there you are" said Naruto, pointing to Hinata. "Everyone's worried about Mesprit. He's been like that since earlier today"

"When did this happen?" Sakura asked, worried.

"Right after you ran away from me and Hinata" Sasuke answered, looking at Sakura.

Sakura looked at him, and then looked away. He noticed it, and stared at her with a raised eyebrow. Sakura had taken a couple of seconds to think about Mesprit, and walked over to him and Hinata. She placed her hand on his head, but he wasn't sick.

"So, it started today?" Sakura asked, and Hinata nodded. "It could be a simple case of exhaustion"

"So sudden? And look at his face" stated Tenten, pointing at Mesprit's eyes.

"You're right. They're too blank. Something's bothering him, all right, but even if he were to tell us, getting rid of the problem would be tricky. We'd have to go all over the town and around to find the irritation" said Sakura, tapping her chin with her finger.

"Well, we should split up then. Looking around is the only answer we've got" said Naruto, but Shikamaru shook his head along with Sakura.

"No, we'd need Mesprit to come around with us to show what the problem is. If we were to come near the problem, he'd let us know" said Shikamaru, but Naruto scratched his head.

"What? How? He's completely blank!" said Naruto.

"It's a reflex, Naruto. Mesprit has something bothering him right now, but if we were to get closer to that troubling factor, he'd react to it" said Kakashi, but Naruto still didn't get it.

"I STILL DON'T GET IT!" shouted Naruto, and Sakura punched him in the head.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP!" shouted Sakura. '_Grr, it's really not even worth explaining'_

"Naruto, she means that when we get close to the irritation, Mesprit will look worse than he does now" Sasuke simply said, causing Naruto to finally get it.

"Oh, okay then! Why didn't you say that in the first place?" Naruto asked, and everyone sighed.

However, they had spent the entire day trying to figure out what was wrong with Mesprit. Nothing had caught their attention, since Mesprit had stayed the same the entire walk through the town. Yet, the STILL didn't figure out what was wrong with Mesprit. After a couple more rounds around the town, everyone had been exhausted, and had gone back to the hotel to figure out on their own what was wrong.

"Mesprit… Please talk to me" begged Hinata, cradling the young pokemon in her arms.

Sakura had heard Hinata's begging, and wished that she could do something to help Hinata, but even with her knowledge on pokemon, not even she could comprehend what could be wrong with Mesprit…

Walking past the room, she noticed Sasuke walked straight past her, and he didn't even say hi to her. She stopped, instantly hurt at the action. Turning around a little, she had noticed Sasuke walk into the room Hinata was in, and Sakura had walked after him and looked into the room. What she saw would've killed any Sasuke fangirl.

Sasuke had put his hand on Hinata's shoulder, seeing as how she was on the verge of tears. Once he did, however, she shoved her face into his chest to cry. Not knowing what to do, he just kept his one arm around her, trying to comfort her. Sakura's world instantly died. She was witnessing something between Sasuke and Hinata, and it wasn't something she liked.

Suddenly, something had happened, and it happened so fast not even Sakura could comprehend what happened. In mere seconds, she had stood in front of Hinata and Sasuke, her hand raised and a red mark on Hinata's left cheek. Sasuke and Hinata's eyes had been as wide as Sakura's, but Mesprit still hadn't reacted to anything… She wanted to apologize, but all that came out of her mouth was…

"You… You! D-DON'T TAKE SASUKE AWAY FROM ME!" she shouted, turning on her heel and running out of the hotel in tears.

Sasuke wasn't going to stand for this, however, and stood to run after her. He stopped at the door, looking back at Hinata, who looked very lost. He nodded to her, telling her he'd be back. She slowly nodded, and he took that cue and left the hotel after the pink haired girl that was his teammate. No one had noticed that Tenten and Ino had witnessed everything from down the hallway.

* * *

Sakura ran. She ran as fast as she possibly could. She ran just as fast as she did earlier when seeing Sasuke and Hinata together. What was this feeling? It was pain, but se never felt it to be so horrible before. It was almost choking her. Suddenly, she crashed into someone and fell back onto the ground. Looking up, she saw Sasuke and her eyes were as wide as saucers.

"How long are you going to run away from me, Sakura?" Sasuke asked, but she didn't answer.

She had just merely curled up into a ball, crying her eyes out. He knelt down to her, touching her shoulder. She instantly remembered him touching Hinata's shoulder, and brushed his hand off.

"…Why…?" she sobbed, but Sasuke couldn't hear it clearly.

"What was that?" he asked, but this time, she put her anger into it.

"WHY? WHY DO YOU LIKE **HER** SO MUCH!" she shouted at him, sobbing more.

Sasuke looked at her, but she just kept sobbing. She just kept crying like that in front of him, and he just kept waiting. Getting tired, Sakura had slowly stopped crying, and Sasuke finally said something.

"Sakura, what is your problem?" he asked calmly.

"…Why? Why…? I was you teammate! I cared about you!... I loved you… I worried about you and everything! WHAT MADE HER SO SPECIAL TO YOU?" shouted Sakura.

"Do you really want to know?" Sasuke asked, but she gave him a look telling him yes. "Well, let's see… Do you remember the day you first met me?"

She was really not in the mood to answer these questions, but nodded. She really wanted to know why he was torturing her like this, but she'd have to wait, because he was continuing his investigation.

"What was your first reaction when finding out you were on my team?" he asked, causing her to think about the day they were assigned to each other…

"…_And Uchiha Sasuke" said Iruka-sensei._

"_YEAH!" shouted Sakura, standing from her spot next to Sasuke. _

"Why did you react that way?" he asked her.

"Because… Because…" she started, but she couldn't think of an answer.

"It was because you wanted to get close to me and try to get me to be your boyfriend, wasn't it? I could tell from the way you and Ino fought over the seat next to me" Sasuke said and Sakura bowed her head in shame. "You didn't even know me, and you did that"

Now that she thought about it, it was kind of selfish. It was just as Kakashi-sensei said when they were tested. She always wondered why he told her that, but she never got it. Why is it that she's only getting these things now? She started to feel stupid.

"_You cared more about Sasuke than Naruto even though Naruto was right in front of you and you didn't know where Sasuke was" _

Why was she only getting this now…? Only now…

"This is why I never saw you like someone I'd live with the rest of my life. You were shallow. You never saw for what I was until after we had become a team. I know, and you know it yourself now, that if we weren't a team, we wouldn't have even talked to each other, now would we?" he asked, but Sakura felt awkward.

Finally realizing what she did and what she was, she shook her head to answer his question. Tears came down her cheeks again. This time, not from pain, but from guilt. Everything she did to Naruto, to Lee, and to Hinata… She couldn't bare the guilt she felt right now. How could she treat all of them the way she did… Always criticizing Naruto, when all he wanted was her attention. Same with Lee, until he saved her in the Chuunin exams… And Hinata… How could she let her jealousy do this to herself?

She cried even more. Sasuke knew why, and he touched her shoulder again. She looked up at him, with the sorriest look on the planet. He softened his gaze on her, and somewhat smiled. This had confused her, until he had started another speech.

"You know, Sakura… We may not have gotten off at a great start in the beginning, but ever since becoming a team, we grew to tolerate each other. Learn more from each other as a team. However, I grew to care about both of you… You and Naruto… You were my first two friends. But Sakura… that's all I can see you as… You're like a sister… A sister I never had… I thank you for that, but please… Please understand where I'm coming from…" he said. Sakura bent her head down as he continued.

"I'm sorry for the pain you've felt all this time, but I can't love you the way you love me… I can't be your boyfriend. I don't want to lie to you and make you think something that isn't true… But I'll tell you what I can be. I can be your friend… And maybe in time, that's all you'll need from me… Just to be your friend… I'm willing to try, now are you?" he asked.

Sakura had looked up and stared at him. A friend? Was that really all she'd need…? A friend… Now that she thought about it, that's all Naruto needed for the time-being… Now that she thought about it, she did to Naruto exactly what Sasuke did to her… She felt so bad about it, too… Looking up at Sasuke, she smiled.

"Yeah. I'm willing to try" she replied, standing up with a grin.

"Okay, then" said Sasuke.

They both stood up and started walking back to the hotel where everyone else was. Neither of them noticed Kakashi-sensei standing behind a tree near them. And underneath the mask he always wore, no one would have been able to tell that he'd been smiling in relief.

"So it's finally been done…" he said, making hand signs and disappearing from his place.

* * *

When the two had gotten back to the hotel, Sakura had apologized to Hinata for slapping her. Hinata had forgiven her of course, and the two had become friends again. Also, while everyone had gathered around to check up on Mesprit, he suddenly got up, shaking his big head and levitated around Hinata's head, shocking everyone!

"Meeeeesprit!" said Mesprit happily.

"Mesprit?" Hinata said, almost starting to cry again. She stood up and hugged the little creature. "But… how?"

Mesprit heard her question, and flew over to Sakura, who stared at him. Mesprit had pointed to Sakura and flew around her head, trying to tell everyone something. As if reading the little pokemon's mind, Ino had realized something.

"Oh, I get it!" she said. "Mesprit is the god of emotions, right? Well, Sakura has been very emotional today, and it must've affected Mesprit somehow!"

"Gasp! That's right! Mesprit has the power to let people feel and let them not feel! Mesprit must've sensed my hidden feelings towards Hinata and Sasuke, and tried to get them out of me so that I wouldn't have to hide it anymore, but with the little power Mesprit really has left from letting the whole world feel emotions, it must've taken a lot more to push feelings out of me" lectured Sakura.

"Meeesprit!" agreed Mesprit, floating back towards Hinata and resting in her arms. He yawned, and started to fall asleep.

"Looks like the little tyke is tired. He had a long day" said Tenten.

"Yeah, a long troublesome day" complained Shikamaru, yawning.

Everyone laughed at this comment. Especially Sakura. And as everyone had left the room, Sakura had heard someone calling to her and turned around to see Naruto running to her. She looked at him for a second and smiled.

"Uh… I… Just wanted to say good night, Sakura!" said Naruto, scratching his head.

"Thank you, Naruto. Good night" she said smiling.

Naruto had been shocked to hear this from Sakura, and in such a kind way. However, he brushed it off and smiled. Sakura could see out of the corner of her eye that Sasuke smiled at her as he walked to his room. She smiled back at Naruto as he turned and went to his room.

'_Yeah… I'm willing to try…' _thought Sakura, turning around and heading for her room like everyone else. However, she couldn't forget about the dream she had when she slept on the beach. She hoped that maybe it won't ever happen in the real world. Hopefully, they'll be able to all finish this pokemon mission alive.

TBC…

* * *

WillowWitch- Okay, I see a lot of people putting me on their favorite's list, but not giving me any reviews. C'mon people! I'm desperate to know what you think of my story! Please tell me! I'm dying to know! And sorry about the long update. School started and there's a lot of homework! Please read and review! 


	6. Reinforcements! Azelf Arrives!

WillowWitch- Hey there! I know that my updates have been coming in later and later, but I hope that you're still reading this story and are still reviewing! Please review! I REALLY wanna know what you guys think!

Hinata- W-Well… Um, on with the story?

WillowWitch- C'mon, Hinata! You can do better! ON WITH THE STORY!

Hinata- Oh, um… I'll do better next time, WillowWitch…

* * *

Ch.6- Reinforcements! Azelf Arrives! 

"Alright, everyone! Gather around!" shouted Anko, causing everyone to run over to her and the other sensei's standing next to her.

"Ahem. As you know, tonight is the night…" said Kakashi. "Dialga and Palkia will appear here in this town, and also, you guys know that tonight is also the last night of the festival being held here in the Land of Waves, so this will be even more challenging then before. Tsunade's orders were to not let anyone see your pokemon, other then the normal looking ones."

"So here's our plan" started Kurenai. "You will all get paired up once again, and this time, you'll go through the festival and look for any signs of Orochimaru and his henchmen. Once finding one, you'll meet back to our meeting point, which is the center of the festival where the sensei's and I will be"

"Also, you need to be careful. Orochimaru and his goons have been here for a while now, so don't get too comfortable during the festival. Hinata, this is for you, especially. Orochimaru will go through a lot to get Mesprit." said Gai.

Hinata inwardly gulped at the last thing said, but nodded. Asuma coughed.

"Alright, so you know your positions! Get ready for tonight, then, because this is the most dangerous part of this mission, even if we're all helping you!" he shouted, causing everyone's faces to turn serious.

"Alright, you now have free time to prepare! Use this time wisely!" said Kakashi, dismissing them to do whatever.

"So, we should do something! Let's battle!" shouted Naruto.

"What? Naruto! We have to train! Not just the pokemon, but all of us!" shouted Sakura.

"Yeah, but we haven't used our pokemon for a couple days already! Let's bring 'em out and fight!" shouted Naruto, punching his fist into the air. Sakura sighed.

"Hmm… Alright! But please not against each other! Let's fight against the trees or something, since our pokemon can't get hurt right now!" said Ino.

With that said everyone had gone on their own to a tree and brought out their pokemon. They had all practiced new techniques, strategies, and abilities for them to use. They had all been so preoccupied, they had not noticed how late it became, and heard the beating drums of the festival at the Land of Waves.

"Oh no! We were supposed to meet the sensei's!" said Sakura, returning Skitty and running towards the festival with everyone else on her tail.

Hinata had held Mesprit close to her as she ran, suddenly having this sick feeling. She didn't know what it was, but it really bothered her. Brushing it off, she continued to run after everyone else. But suddenly, a quick flash had gone through her mind. She didn't know what it was, but she saw herself, Mesprit, and everyone else. There was blood, shouting, and other things Hinata didn't need to see right now. She noticed Mesprit had been glowing and realized it must've been a vision given to her by Mesprit. The sick feeling had worsened and she just didn't want to move from her spot right now.

"Hinata? C'mon! The sensei's will have our heads if we don't hurry!" shouted Ino, grabbing her arm and pulling her after her.

Yeah, the sick feeling was growing with each step she took.

* * *

They had finally arrived at the festival, but Hinata's sick feeling was terrible now! She was almost paranoid! She'd been looking around her every second as if something would jump out at her. The feeling was scary, and she didn't like it. She held Mesprit closer to her, and Mesprit looked up at his mother worriedly. 

Hearing Mesprit speak, Hinata pulled the blanket over Mesprit to cover him from human eyes. Mesprit squeaked in response, but Hinata shushed him. Everyone had separated from each other and into their partners again. Hinata being with Sasuke, had walked with her through the festival, looking around for any danger. Hinata's vision kept playing in her mind again and again, and she was still trying to figure it out, piece by piece…

"Hinata, what's wrong?" Sasuke asked her, giving her a look as if telling her that he should just tell him or he won't stop asking.

"Um… W-Well… I don't know…" she replied. "I… just think s-something's going to happen! S-Something scary…"

"Hn" he said, and she looked at him. "Well, I'm… not sure of what to say, but… we're… all here for you and Mesprit so… just don't worry"

Hinata looked at him with amazement. '_Sasuke really is a nice person…'_ she thought to herself. They suddenly walked past the fish booth she was at the first day the arrived. She walked over to see if the two fish she saw were still there… Yes, they were, and they both were at the opposite ends of the fish tank. Obviously, they weren't very popular, since they were the only two left in the tank… Feeling bad, seeing as how they reminded her of her two friends, she had decided to get the two of them. As she walked back to Sasuke, who was looking at her oddly.

"What are those?" he asked her, and she held them up for him to see.

Looking at them closely, he was able to figure out why she had bought the both of them, and smiled. He patted her head and gave the bag of fish to Sasuke to hold. Knowing that they couldn't hold the fish when Dialga and Palkia came, Hinata had run into the hotel really quick to drop them into a small clear vase the room had. Quickly doing this, they had run back to the festival in time for some food.

"So… Sasuke…" she started, getting his attention. "What… um… what did you tell Sakura after…"

He knew what the rest of that sentence was, and shook his head, telling her that it was confidential between teammates/friends. Hinata found it understandable and dropped the whole subject. The night was getting later and later, but so far, nothing had happened just yet, and it was almost midnight… The sensei's were getting extremely worried.

"Kurenai, are you sure it was going to happen tonight?" Kakashi asked her, and she nodded, telling them that she's never wrong in calculating this kind of thing.

Anko sighed. She was very bored with just sitting around during a festival. There hadn't been a sign of Orochimaru either, and it bugged her. Knowing her former teacher, Anko knew that Orochimaru wasn't going to just let them get rid of his chances of grabbing Dialga and Palkia. There was something wrong with this picture.

"Alright, we gotta stop sitting here! We have to check out the town! It's been too long!" said Anko, standing from her seat.

"No, we stay here until something happens" ordered Kakashi. "This is probably the kind of thing Orochimaru would want us to do is to separate and let our guards down. There is safety in numbers, and remember that Orochimaru's henchmen are here with pokemon on their side. Unlike us, they're willing to expose pokemon to the public, and our mission is to keep them secret for now."

Anko stared at Kakashi for a while pondering this, and sat back down in defeat. She knew she couldn't argue with that statement, but there really was something wrong with this… Why is Orochimaru waiting to make his move?

As if reading her mind, an explosion had been heard from inside the forest. Everyone had looked in the direction of it, and the Konoha ninja were on the move! Meeting up with their sensei's, they had ran into the forest, using their ears to listen for and ninja and the sight to look for the smoke. They had all expected to see Dialga and Palkia, but instead, they ended up in an open field. Looking around, knowing that this was where the smoke came from, they noticed that the smoke wasn't here anymore. This was not good. By the time they all realized it, it was too late.

They were trapped by the Sound Ninja.

A huge group of Sound ninja stood around them. Almost 30 of them were around, and they all knew that this would be tougher then they thought, considering the fact that the pokemon stolen by them had at least evolved once. This was bad, and they all knew it, but what else could they do but battle?

"Alright! Give us your pokemon! Otherwise, we'll just have to take them from you!" shouted one of the Sound Ninja.

"I don't think so!" shouted Kakashi, bringing out Salamence. "Salamence, use Dragonbreath!"

A blast of breath had come from Salamence and headed for the many Sound Ninja, but one of them knew how to stop it.

"Alakazam! Use Safeguard!" shouted one of the Sound Ninja being aimed at with the Dragonbreath.

Using the Safeguard had blocked the Sound ninja from Salamence's attack. This was very bad for our Konoha ninja. They had all brought out their pokemon and formed a circle around Hinata, seeing as how Mesprit was still not old enough to fight, yet.

"Hounder/Growlithe/Combusken/Vulpix, use flamethrower!" shouted Sasuke, Kiba, Lee, and Naruto.

Their attacks had almost hit their target, but the Sound Ninja were too good for them and dodged or blocked each and every attack.

"Steelix, use Iron tail!" shouted Tenten.

However, against the Alakazam, Steelix' attack was useless.

"Makuhita, help Tenten with Dynamic punch!" shouted Chouji, but still no avail with Alakazam.

"Oddish, use Razor Leaf!" shouted Ino

"Slakoth, help her out with Fury Swipe!" shouted Shikamaru.

Against a Sceptile, Razor Leaf had been useless, and Slakoth was too lazy to do anything and ignored Shikamaru's order much to his annoyance.

"Dusclops, use Psychic!" said Neji, and even with how strong Dusclops was compared to the others, not even he was able to do much damage (or any at all) to Mightyena.

"Skorupi, give them a Stringshot" said Shino, but the Stringshot didn't do much for them.

"This isn't working! Only the sensei's are giving these guys any damage!" shouted Sakura.

"Alright, Masquerain, use Silver Wind!" shouted a Sound Ninja, blowing everyone off their feet and onto the ground.

"Now, let's get rid of the girl like Orochimaru asked! Use Flamethrower, Charizard!" shouted one of the ninja, and the Charizard shot a giant flamethrower in Hinata's direction!

Hinata had never been so scared in her life. First was the time when she was nearly drowning, and now she really is going to die… No one can save her now, and all the parts of her vision are going to come true! RIGHT NOW! As everyone had shouted and looked at her in horror, she held her hands in front of herself as a last resort of defense.

However, it wasn't needed…

"Banette! Use Giga Impact!"

Suddenly, a pokemon with a creepy smile had suddenly shot itself through the flamethrower that was being shot to Hinata and attacked the Charizard on target. The Charizard groaned loudly and fell on it's back. The creepy pokemon who had saved Hinata's life had returned to it's owner, and everyone but the sensei's had been surprised at who the owner was, and who the owner was with.

"Heh, so you need us to save your butts again, I see? Luckily I used that old TM on Banette!" gloated a young man with purple paint on his face.

"C…Could it be…?" Naruto asked to no one in particular.

"It… is!" shouted Lee.

"Yup, and as usual. Konoha needs us to protect them, right, Flygon?" asked a woman with four ponytails to her Flygon, who responded with 'Flyyyygon!'

"Hn… This kind of thing should be… a habit, now…Sandslash…?" said a red head to his partner, Sandslash.

"It's them! The Sand Village's top three ninja! Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro!" said Tenten.

"Alright, let's see what these Sound losers have!" shouted Temari. "Flygon, use Sandstorm!"

Suddenly, the giant green creature had flown to where the Konoha ninja were and started flapping his wings rapidly. The sand on the ground around them had begun to rise up and circulate around them, causing everyone to close their eyes to avoid getting sand in them.

"Alright, Sandslash, use Slash on every Sound ninja here, and on the pokemon as well" ordered Gaara.

Sandslash had done exactly what his master ordered, swiftly going to each Sound ninja and slashing them quickly, along with the pokemon around them. In a quick moment, the Sandstorm had subsided, and everyone opened their eyes to see all of the Sound ninja and the pokemon on the ground in pain. Gaara and the others dropped down from the tree they were on and walked to the others.

"…We're not finished, yet" said Gaara, holding out his hand as the sand around him and everyone else had rose from the ground and his gourd to wrap itself around the Sound Ninja.

"No! Don't hurt the pokemon!" shouted Sakura, causing Gaara to look at her when his sand had headed for the pokemon. Taking her words, the sand retreated from the pokemon, and it wrapped itself around all of the Sound Ninja, again. With one grip of his fist, the area had suddenly rained blood among everyone.

"Whirlwind, Flygon!" shouted Temari, and Flygon obeyed, making all of the blood avoid falling on any of the Konoha ninja and their pokemon.

Flygon soon stopped using whirlwind to let everyone process what had just happened. Sakura looked around to see pieces of something all around her. She picked them all up and realized that they were the pokeballs of the pokemon the Sound Ninja had stolen. She walked over to the unconscious pokemon, who had all stood up quickly and growled at her and everyone they saw. All of the ninja and their pokemon had gotten ready to fight again, but Sakura stopped them, walking to the pokemon.

"… Here… See…? Your pokeballs…. They're broken, so you don't have to follow anyone anymore. At least, not those terrible Sound Ninjas… You're all free" Sakura said to all of them.

The pokemon had all looked at each other, and as if nothing had happened they all turned away and went off into the forest.

"Well, it was about time you three showed up" said Kakashi told the Sand ninja.

"EHHH? You mean they were supposed to come?" shouted Naruto in disbelief.

"Yup, Tsunade asked them after you guys left for this town, and even gave them pokemon she saved specially for them" said Gai. "But they got the invite before we left to help you guys."

"Yeah, and their pokemon are at their highest level!" noted Sakura, extremely impressed.

"Well, one can bond with a pokemon easily if it's from their own environment, right, Flygon?" asked Temari, and Flygon happily replied.

"Yeah, but Banette is…" started Neji, knowing a ghost pokemon since he owns one.

"Yes, but I guess you can say that me and Banette are closer than we thought at first" said Kankuro.

"Oh…" said Kiba, looking at Growlithe and Akamaru and understanding what Kankuro meant. He smiled at both of them as they barked.

"Hinata…?" Sasuke asked, looking at his horror-struck friend.

Hinata had soon realized that the vision Mesprit gave her wasn't where someone she knew was going to die, but where all the other Sound Ninja would. There had been the blood from the Sound Ninja, and the shouting from her friends. Knowing this had made her a bit relieved, and she hugged Mesprit as if thanking him for letting her realize this. Suddenly, a green light had appeared out of somewhere. They all looked at where it was coming from, which was behind the three Sand Ninja. Looking at them, they saw them smirking and never knew why until a little green creature came from behind them. It had a small body and two tails like Mesprit, but his head had been shaped differently. It almost made him look like a gnome.

"Azzzzelf!" the creature said happily, floating over to Mesprit. He grabbed Mesprit's hands and seemed to be dancing around with him.

"A… Azelf?" Hinata stuttered.

"Yes! Azelf is one of the legendary three like Mesprit who will help put Palkia and Dialga back to where they cam from! Azelf, the 'Being of Willpower'!" said Sakura, amazed.

"So… This is Mesprit's… brother?" Naruto asked, causing everyone to look at the two of them in amazement just as Sakura did.

"Yes, apparently, it had arrived in Tsunade's office after the sensei's had left and before we arrived to Konoha" explained Temari. "Tsunade wanted us to bring him to you guys"

"Wow, so now there's a better chance of getting rid of Palkia and Dialga now!" said Kiba.

"No, they will disappear, but they won't be gone just yet. We still need the last one to appear in order to get rid of the two of them once and for all-" started Kurenai, but as soon as she tried to finish her sentence, an unnerving quake had come, knocking everyone off their feet again.

"…They're here" said Kakashi.

"Let's go!" shouted Gai, heading back to the village of the Waves.

* * *

After arriving back in the village, all of the ninja had looked around to see that the festival that used to be around had been destroyed. All of the booths had been torn down, and near the center of the festival, there had been a huge ditch leading from the ocean to another part of the forest. Suddenly, as if on a cue, Dialga had lifted his long neck, revealing himself to the world around him. It roared loudly as the large light appeared at it's mouth again, and with a jerk of it's head, the light turned into a beam that shook the ground within impact. 

Dialga seemed to be looking for Palkia, and as if reading Dialga's mind, Palkia had shown itself with a large light appearing out of nowhere. Palkia had roared loudly, slashing one of its claws at Dialga, hurting it badly. In anger, Dialga tackled Palkia to the ground. This had shocked all of the ninja, and Naruto had enough watching.

"Alright, that's it! Let's get out there and stop them!" shouted Naruto, running into the forest with his Vulpix not that far behind.

"Urgh, wait! We still need a plan! Gah, troublesome" said Shikamaru, following them along with everyone but Hinata.

Hinata stood there with an odd expression on her face. She watched the two pokemon fight with such anger and hatred. She had wondered why they fought so hard against each other, and what good sending them away would do if they were only to come back and fight again.

"Hinata?" Sasuke called out to her, seeing how troubled she looked. Grabbing her hand and nodding to her, she felt that now was not the time to think about such things. She had to stop their fight now.

Running with Sasuke and having the two legendary pokemon float after them, they all ran after the others into the forest. Knowing that this could probably end the mission or their lives, they had all been a little worried.

However, arriving at the two giant pokemon's fight had taken a while seeing as how they had been a great distance from the village. They had eventually gotten there, though. Once there, Naruto had gotten Vulpix and had used flamethrower on Dialga. It barely did any damage to the giant pokemon, but Naruto and Vulpix weren't going to give up. Vulpix had kept up the flamethrower for some time. Deciding that Naruto shouldn't be the only one fighting, everyone else had joined in on the fight, resulting in getting massive damage to their pokemon.

"Everyone, move out! Dialga's gonna use Hyper Beam!" shouted Anko, seeing the large ball of light at Dialga's mouth.

"Scatter!" shouted Naruto, calling Vulpix into his pokeball and running out of the way.

However, their efforts had been pointless, since Dialga had summoned the energy quicker than usual and shot the ground beneath them. There had been a huge quake as everyone practically flew off their feet and into the ground again. Mesprit and Azelf had enough of the two fighting, and flew up to the two. Holding each other's hands, Mesprit and Azelf began to glow. With this glow, Palkia and Dialga had turned brighter than last time as they were lifted up from the ground.

Just like before, a huge light had spread all across the Shinobi region, blinding everyone who was there. As the light slowly died down, Hinata looked up at Azelf and Mesprit. The two looked exhausted as they both fell from the sky. Hinata ran to the two of them, catching Mesprit first due to him falling faster than Azelf. Hinata caught Azelf soon after, and the two had fallen asleep in her arms. As she held onto Azelf, Hinata suddenly felt a refreshing feeling. Brushing it off, Hinata sighed in relief that the two were okay.

"Is… Is it over?" Tenten asked, looking around for Dialga and Palkia.

"It must be" said Temari, standing next to Flygon.

As everyone recovered from the shock of what had just happened, Hinata walked over to them with the two in her arms. Everyone looked at the new member of their crew, Mesprit's brother, Azelf.

"Azelf… The God of Willpower…" said Lee, highly impressed with the small pokemon.

"Well, that means our mission was a success" said Gai, patting Lee on the shoulder.

Everyone agreed on that, heading back to the Village of the Waves in exhaustion. They had decided on getting a full night of rest before heading back to Konoha. However, they were being watched as a snake-like man had been standing on the cliff next to where the fight had earlier happened. His smirk had been plastered on his face ever since the ambush in the forest. No one would be able to tell why he had been smirking, but you can tell that it wasn't for anything good.

"Heh, they think they're so far ahead of us, don't they? Well, let's just show them that they're wrong… Right, Uxie…?" hissed Orochimaru to a little creature next to him with a huge yellow helmet looking head. It looked as though it were sleeping, but right now, there had also been a dark aura around him. Slowly, the creature started to open its eyes to show big yellow to Orochimaru.

"Hmm… Let's show them what exactly they're dealing with…" he hissed.

TBC…

* * *

WillowWitch- If you read Wikipedia or Bulbapedia on Uxie, you might be a little confused about the last part, or some of you might just get what happened. If you don't get it, read my next chapter and find out! But please, GIVE ME SOME REVIEWS! 


	7. Shikamaru's Slakoth Irritation

WillowWitch- I'll admit, I've been a little lazy lately. That last chapter was actually pretty bad now that I read it, so I'm gonna try better with this chapter.

Hinata- P-Please enjoy the story

WillowWitch- ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

Ch. 7- Shikamaru's Slakoth Irritation

Knowing that they didn't complete the mission, Tsunade looked at the two legendary pokemon circling around her head. There were only two of them, and that made her nervous. They should've all gotten together by now. Everyone had looked at Tsunade with worry, seeing her blank expression.

"Hmm… Alright, then your mission's a success. According to Kurenai, Palkia and Dialga should arrive at the next destination in about 3 months. Since Azelf had been around, there's a longer time period before they appear again. Dismissed" she said.

Shikamaru had instantly found something wrong. Tsunade seemed unfazed about them being ambushed, Mesprit's earlier weakened spirit, and them being ambushed again. Usually, Tsunade would at least be a little disturbed, but she seemed really calm about this, as if it were expected. All of it.

"Tsunade-sama, where are they goi-" started Naruto, but before anything else could be said, Tsunade slammed her fist against her desk, shocking everyone.

"…I said 'Dismissed'" said Tsunade, not changing her calm look.

With nothing more said, everyone left her office and didn't dare to look back. Seeing the others leave, Azelf and Mesprit had followed them, trailing close behind Hinata.

"Tsunade-sama…" started Shizune. "There's something wrong, isn't there? You didn't tell them about the Sound Village being their next destination"

"Shizune… I'm not sure I can let them go on with this mission… I already know where the last of the three is, and I don't think they can get him back. Even with the sensei's and the Sand village ninja with them, they can't do it. If I were to send them on this mission, there's a chance that they could die… I won't allow it…" said Tsunade, head in her hands.

* * *

Outside on the training grounds, Naruto and the others (Including the Sand Ninja and the sensei's) had been training with their pokemon, fighting more trees. However, Shikamaru had been having trouble with training Slakoth, seeing as how it wouldn't even wake up. Twitching slightly, Shikamaru ordered Slakoth to use Fury Swipe on a nearby tree, but Slakoth had ignored Shikamaru. From where she trained, Ino and Chouji saw that their teammate was having trouble and walked over to him with their pokemon.

"Shika, is something wrong?" Ino asked, seeing Slakoth asleep.

"Can you not call me that? And no, there isn't anything wrong" replied Shikamaru.

"Really? It looks as though Slakoth doesn't like you that much" noted Chouji.

Shikamaru cursed to himself as Slakoth kept on sleeping. In front of his teammates, sensei's, and friends, this was kinda embarrassing. Especially since he'd been the only Chuunin amongst the rest of the genin around him.

"Maybe you haven't bonded with your Slakoth like we all have with our pokemon" said Chouji, trying to make Shikamaru feel better.

"It's true, Chouji, that the bond between pokemon and their trainers are very important, but the respect you get from your pokemon is important as well" started Asuma. "It seems that Shikamaru could be good friends with his pokemon-"

"Could be…?" interrupted Shikamaru.

"Ahem… _May_ be friends with his pokemon, but the truth is that Slakoth probably doesn't respect him like you all do" stated Asuma.

"Huh? But Shikamaru's an excellent leader" noted Sakura, causing Shikamaru to scratch his head while Ino raised one of her eye brows.

"Yes, but there are different pokemon personalities, just as there are humans, and this Slakoth is probably not the most trusting towards others at first. Either that, or just completely lazy. Maybe even more than Shikamaru himself" said Kakashi, causing Shikamaru to twitch at the insult.

"Hey, we'll help you, Shikamaru! I'm sure we can get Slakoth to trust and respect you" said Ino, patting her teammate on the back.

"Heh, well, we've got at least 2 months to do so. Nothing's more youthful than the bond between a pokemon and their ninja trainer!" said Gai, posing in his 'nice guy' pose.

Like in a true anime, Gai had stayed in this pose like a rock while Kakashi, Kurenai, Anko, and Asuma picked him up and carried him off-screen. While everyone else had sweat-dropped at this scene, Shikamaru looked at his sleeping Slakoth with doubt. Could he really pull this off?

* * *

Next morning, Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and their pokemon had been shopping for Hinata, seeing as how she had to deal with two legendary pokemon now. Even with Neji's help, the two had been a lot to handle. At the moment, Hinata had needed another blanket for Azelf and a bottle, knowing that she couldn't possibly have the share the same bottle. Kids. Sharing. No mix. However, they had someone else with them…

"Geez, how long does it take to get a bottle and a blanket?" complained Shikamaru, dragging Slakoth along with them.

"C'mon, Shikamaru! You want to bond with Slakoth, right? Well, this is how we bond with our pokemon! We let them out and take them everywhere!" said Ino.

"Yeah, and besides, we need to find the exact same bottle and blanket, or something close to it! The two might fight over one of the blankets or bottles, and we don't need to put anymore pressure on Hinata!" said Sakura.

Tenten looked at Sakura almost in shock. Not too long ago, Sakura had been practically jealous of Hinata. She may have even hated her, but now she's helping her out with Mesprit and Azelf. She's even standing up for her! She may not have known what happened, but Tenten smiled at Sakura, as if she were proud of her.

"Anyways, if you're not going to accept our help, then just leave and go ask Naruto for help" said Sakura with a smirk as she, Ino, Tenten, and their pokemon walked onward.

"Mreeeow!" said Skitty, as if saying 'yeah!'

Shikamaru sighed in defeat. He knew Naruto may not have helped him any more than these girls are, and reluctantly followed them. He didn't like having to take advice like this from girls, but he assumed only they could help.

"C'mon Slakoth" said Shikamaru, following the girls. However, Slakoth had ignored Shikamaru again, falling asleep where it was.

Sighing again, but in annoyance, Shikamaru had picked Slakoth up and carried it on his back while following the girls. In his mind, he hoped that Slakoth would come onto him soon; otherwise, his head will explode from the irritation that's clogging up his mind.

"I hope this is going to work…" said Ino, worriedly.

"Hmm, well, if anything, at least he's getting off his butt for once" said Sakura.

"Sakura, be nice. It must feel terrible to be the leader, and not have your own pokemon respect you" said Tenten.

"Well, if I were to say something, maybe this isn't a good idea after all" said Sakura, surprising her two friends. "Shikamaru doesn't get that all pokemon are different in personality like Kakashi-sensei said. Those two won't bond with our methods, or anyone else's. They've got to bond their own way"

"That makes sense!... Why don't we tell him that?" Tenten asked, looking at the suffering Shikamaru.

"Because he's gotta start somewhere and learn it himself" said Sakura, walking ahead of her two friends. Tenten shrugged, knowing they couldn't argue with that. However, something still bothered Ino about letting Shikamaru learn on his own that made her stop in her tracks…

"But… Shikamaru's not that persistent… What if he does something rational…?" she asked to no one in particular.

* * *

After finally getting through his head that the shopping with the girls plan wouldn't work, Shikamaru had gone straight to Chouji, his best friend who seemed to have a good bond with his Makuhita. They had both been eating a bag of chips on their favorite spot.

"Well, Shikamaru, I guess me and Makuhita just like to eat. When we eat, we make our bodies strong enough to fight, and we both love it, so we bond while doing it" said Chouji.

"Okay, give me some chips, will ya?" said Shikamaru, sitting next to Chouji with Slakoth next to him and grabbing a couple of chips and passing Slakoth one. Shikamaru ate a chip, and Slakoth joined him, but they both had different reactions.

Shikamaru ate it, complimenting Chouji on his good choice of chips, but Slakoth had spit it out. Chouji noticed this and asked Shikamaru what kind of food is given to him.

"Uhh… I usually feed him what I eat" said Shikamaru.

"Ah, so he likes spicy foods! These chips are dry, so I guess I should give him my spicy chips" said Chouji, passing Shikamaru another bag of chips.

As they took a bite of one each, Shikamaru's face scrunched up along with Slakoth's face. They both coughed a little and wondered what kind of spices were used in the chips they just ate.

"C-Chouji… cough… What in the world IS this?" Shikamaru choked out.

Chouji looked at the bag of chips that he passed to Shikamaru and instantly sweat-dropped at his own klutziness. The bag he gave to Shikamaru had apparently been the spiciest chips he ever tasted, and it obviously wasn't a favorite among his friend. He laughed as his Makuhita stole the bag of the really spicy chips and shoved them down its' throat. As Makuhita did so, Shikamaru ate a chip from the new bag given to him, and gave one to Slakoth.

However, Slakoth seemed to have had enough chips and fell straight asleep, much to Shikamaru's annoyance, again. Chouji sighed at this action, knowing that his best friend probably won't stand much more of this and will sooner or later do something he'll most likely regret later…

"Chouji, I'm gonna go relax at the fields again… I need to clear my mind before it blows" said Shikamaru, standing up and returning Slakoth.

"Look, Shikamaru, don't do anything you'll regret, okay? Bonding with a pokemon takes time" advised Chouji.

"Well, you didn't seem to need that much time, did you?" snapped Shikamaru, shocking Chouji. Shikamaru never snapped at Chouji before, and that bothered him and Shikamaru himself. "Look, I'm sorry Chouji. I just…"

"Nah, it's okay, I know it's hard… Just take care, okay?" Chouji asked, making Shikamaru nod, happy from the fact that he chose an understanding friend.

* * *

What was wrong with him? Shikamaru had been letting this little problem get to his head, literally. He had yelled at CHOUJI for pete's sake! That was definitely not like him, and he knew it… Next thing he knows, he'll yell at Asuma or the others, or even Ino! This Slakoth thing is being a bigger problem than normal…

What could he do…?

As he was heading to the fields, he ended up running into Naruto, Kiba, and Lee at the training grounds. They all seemed to be training their pokemon, but there also seemed to be a problem amongst the group of loudest people of their teams… Akamaru and Growlithe seemed to have gotten into a fight, and Kiba was never a good counselor.

"C'mon you guys! Cut it out!" scolded Kiba, trying to break up Akamaru and Growlithe's fight.

"They fight as much as you and Naruto yourselves" said Lee.

"HEY! I resent that!" shouted Naruto, making Kiba smirk.

"Well, he's not lying since you ARE the one that starts all of our fights, Naruto" said Kiba, causing Naruto to get madder.

"WHAT!" shouted Naruto, starting a fight with Kiba

Shikamaru reluctantly walked over to them, noticing that Vulpix and Combusken had sweat-dropped at this whole scene. Shikamaru had wondered why Vulpix and Combusken even listen to Lee or Naruto, considering their not so good first impressions. Kiba, he could understand, since Akamaru could put in a good word for him with Growlithe.

"Sigh Do I wanna know what's happening?" Shikamaru asked.

"Kiba's/Naruto's being an IDIOT! I AM NOT!" shouted the both of them at once. Noticing this, they looked at each other and started fighting again, while Lee and Shikamaru sighed.

"Troublesome. How are you guys actually able to have your pokemon respect you when all you do is fight?" asked Shikamaru, getting their attention.

"Tch, like you should talk, Shikamaru! Slakoth still isn't listening to you, is he?" asked Naruto, getting a bad look from Kiba and Lee.

"Look, I'm just wondering what makes Vulpix like you so much, let alone, do what you say?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, that's easy! I like my Vulpix, and that's what makes Vulpix like me! What in the world did you think?" Naruto asked him, causing Vulpix to come to him and snuggle against his leg.

"Yeah, me and Growlithe, too, and Lee with Combusken! We just have a lot in common! Me, Growlithe, and Akamaru like to play around with each other!" said Kiba.

"And Combusken and I like to train! What do you and Slakoth like to do?" asked Lee.

Shikamaru was surprisingly not able to answer the question. Truth be told, Shikamaru hadn't spent enough time with Slakoth to know what Slakoth likes to do. Unless in a battle or eating, Shikamaru rarely brought out Slakoth. With his facial expression, the three ninja in front of him were able to tell what his answer was, and their faces faulted, showing that they were shocked.

"Shikamaru… Have you even _talked_ to Slakoth…?" Naruto asked.

"Hmm… I'm leaving" said Shikamaru, turning on his heel and walking to the fields.

"HEY! I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!" shouted Naruto, pouting.

Shikamaru continued to walk away from them, trying to think of what Slakoth likes to do. Considering the fact that he'd let Slakoth out a lot, lately, he thought he should find SOMETHING that Slakoth likes to do… Well, he liked to sleep… And eat… And… Geez, why didn't the author give Slakoth to Chouji?

Shikamaru sighed, but not just in frustration, but also in disappointment in himself. What was he going to do? He already seemed to have screwed things up with trying to be friends with Slakoth now. He chose to ignore Slakoth, and all because he's been too busy with his leadership over the rest of the genin to pay attention to Slakoth. However, even if he were to gain Slakoth's trust, how was he supposed to keep it while doing his job? Maybe he couldn't… Maybe he couldn't handle anymore responsibility after becoming a Chuunin…

As he arrived at the fields, he looked up at the clouds for a minute. They looked so calm, and he wished he could be like that. The clouds didn't get such responsibility… He took out his pokeball with Slakoth inside of it. Pressing the button, it expanded into its' bigger form and he tossed it into the air, letting Slakoth out. Slakoth looked around and yawned, and then looked at its' master, who had a disturbing look on his face…

"Slakoth, I'm… sorry …for everything, as troublesome as it is to admit…" said Shikamaru, making Slakoth walk over to him. However, he stepped away.

"Slaaaaakoth?" Slakoth asked, as if asking what was wrong.

"Look, I'm sorry okay? But… I… can't take care of you!" Shikamaru snapped, turning on his heel and ran away from Slakoth, leaving the little pokemon there. Slakoth's eyes are usually half closed, but while Shikamaru wasn't looking, they widened in shock, confusion, and slowly turned to sadness.

At the training grounds, Shikamaru had been throwing shuriken at a tree. Anyone who knew Shikamaru would find this scene strange, knowing that Shikamaru was the laziest person in Konoha. He was angry at himself, knowing that it was awful what he did to Slakoth, but what was he to do? He wanted Slakoth to be happy, and being with him was not doing the job… He even remembered the first thing he said when he first met Slakoth…

"_Ugh. Even more troublesome"_

That must've won Slakoth over for sure… Now that he thought about it, he was the only one to say something like that to his own pokemon! Why would Slakoth even CONSIDER obeying a jerk like him, now? He sighed, throwing more and more shuriken at the tree until he ran out… Panting from exhaustion, Shikamaru sat down on the ground to breathe. Not noticing, Chouji and Ino had been watching this whole scene of him and the shuriken.

"Chouji… I think Slakoth's really gotten to him" said Ino, worriedly.

"Yeah… Let's try to talk to him, again" said Chouji.

"But he might yell at us" pointed out Ino, causing Chouji's face to falter…

"Well, let's not just leave him there! We're his friends, right?" Chouji asked Ino, making her nervous, but later nodded.

Shikamaru had not noticed Chouji and Ino being behind him until he eventually heard their footsteps. He sat up and looked at them for a second, knowing that they were going to advise him about Slakoth again…

"Shikamaru, you okay?" asked Ino.

"sigh … I let Slakoth go…" said Shikamaru, making Ino and Chouji widen their eyes.

"Why? Didn't you at least try to work with him?" Chouji asked.

"Yeah, but he still didn't cooperate… Troublesome thing…" said Shikamaru, but that wasn't very convincing since Ino could tell that something was really wrong and that wasn't it.

"Shikamaru, I know you didn't let him go just because you couldn't bond! Tell us the truth! We're your friends…" she said, wanting to know what caused such an event to occur.

"… I… I felt… guilty…" admitted Shikamaru, knowing he couldn't lie to them. "I figured out after talking with Kiba, Naruto, and Lee that I never even talked to Slakoth before… I never let him out of his pokeball, so that's why I couldn't bond with him… I made him the last priority on my list with being a leader and a Chuunin and all, and no living creature deserves that…"

Ino and Chouji looked at each other, finally understanding the story. They both sat down next to Shikamaru, trying to comfort him. He looked at the two of them.

"Y' know, there are times when me and Oddish don't get along…" said Ino. "We'd always get into fights on who's prettier, me or her… Or we'd fight over how much water I give to the flowers at the shop… But we'd get over it"

"Yeah, and there are times when I would fight with Makuhita over chips! Or steak! Or, well, anything around that's edible!" said Chouji, making Shikamaru laugh a little. "but we'd always put it behind us sooner or later… Maybe Slakoth didn't get along well with you because of a small mistake, but trying to make up for it would've helped bring him back"

"Yeah" agreed Ino. "And besides, fights are what make a friendship a better one! You just gotta know when the fighting needs to stop…"

"But the problem is that I won't have time to spend with Slakoth if I'm a Chuunin and your leader! Even if I were to get him back, I don't think I would do anything different!" protested Shikamaru.

"Well, isn't that why we're a team? If you need help, all you need to do is ask us! We can help you with your Chuunin responsibilities while you try to mend your relationship with Slakoth…" said Chouji.

"Heh, well, it's too late now… Even if I could find Slakoth, what makes you think he'd come back?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, you could try… Who knows? Friends forgive each other easily!" said Ino, remembering the Chuunin exams between her and Sakura.

"… Alright… But I'll need help looking for Slakoth… Can you…?" he asked, earning a smile from both Ino and Chouji.

"Sure!" they both said.

* * *

For a while, they had all looked for Slakoth, including the rest of Konoha 12 and the Sand Siblings. They had divided into their teams to look for the little pokemon, and so far, they had no such luck. With Naruto's team, Naruto and Vulpix had looked up in the trees with Sasuke and Houndour while Sakura stayed on the ground with Skitty.

Kiba's team had nothing, yet, but the three noses of Kiba and his dogs had showed promise. Including them, they had Shino, with Skorupi and his bugs, which went all around the forest in search of Slakoth. They also had Hinata, who used her Byakugan while Azelf and Mesprit searched from their position above her.

Neji's team decided to separate, knowing they could take care of themselves. Neji and Dusclops had been searching high and low. Tenten and Steelix were searching another part, trying now to knock down anymore trees. Lee and Combusken seemed to have been playing a game as where one tries to find Slakoth first.

Gaara's team separated as well. Gaara had his sand eye summoned and positioned high above the trees for a better view. Kankuro and Banette searched through the forest like anyone else, knowing his jutsu wouldn't help. Temari had been on Flygon's back, swiftly moving past the trees looking as hard as they could.

Shikamaru's team, however, didn't have any better luck than the other's did. Ino used Oddish to call anymore grass pokemon to help her look for Shikamaru's Slakoth. Chouji had Makuhita look around the area, knowing the young Slakoth very well. Shikamaru had called out for Slakoth, hopefully getting him to come back.

* * *

While this had been going on, Slakoth had been wandering the forest, not being able to sleep after what happened at the fields. Slakoth had been wondering whether or not Shikamaru liked him from the beginning. However, it didn't have that much time to think about it, since suddenly, out of the blue, a wild Houndour came out and attacked the little pokemon.

Scared, Slakoth ran for its' life. However, Slakoth had soon been trapped when appearing at a rocky wall. It had nowhere to go, and it seemed that the Houndour chasing after him was hungry. Slakoth wished it had chased after Shikamaru when he left him. If anything, it would've been better than getting itself into this!

With nothing left to do, Slakoth could only yell for help.

* * *

From not too far away, Shikamaru had heard Slakoth's call, and immediately ran in the direction it came from. Chouji and Ino noticed him running from them, and quickly followed with their pokemon trailing behind them. Soon, Shikamaru and his team had found Slakoth due to its' constant yells. The wild Houndour still Slakoth cornered up against the wall behind him, and immediately used Flamethrower to roast the Slakoth.

Knowing that his Slakoth couldn't dodge an attack like that, Shikamaru immediately ran and ran towards his pokemon until…

…Until…

"SHIKAMARU!" shouted Ino, running over to her teammate with Oddish.

Slakoth opened its' eyes to see that it was far out of reach from the Houndour's Flamethrower. He remembered Shikamaru calling out his name, picking Slakoth up from his position on the ground, and immediately threw Slakoth out of the way… But… Shikamaru had gotten hit in the legs by the flamethrower…

Chouji had tried to fight off the Houndour, but the wild pokemon had been too strong for Makuhita, and none of the other teams were close to them at the moment. Shikamaru had been badly injured, and couldn't move, let alone, command Slakoth to do anything. Ino's Oddish would've been a bad match-up against a fire-type like Houndour. What was Chouji gonna do now?

Slakoth slowly walked over to its' master, trying to check if he was okay. His legs were burnt. Nothing critical, but he wouldn't be able to move for a couple of days. Ino nearly started to cry, and hugged Shikamaru's head in her arms, wishing he never got hurt to begin with.

"Urgh… I… I'm choking!" muttered Shikamaru in Ino's arms. She immediately loosened her grip, now knowing that he was okay for the most part.

Slakoth stared at Shikamaru, letting it process through it's' head that Shikamaru saved him, even though he let him go… Shikamaru DID care for the little pokemon, and the thought made the little pokemon happier than ever. But then Slakoth looked at Shikamaru's legs and then… grew angry… Shikamaru took the pain for him, and he wouldn't let the wild Houndour get away with such a crime!

This anger had grown until suddenly, Slakoth had begun to glow! He glowed so bright that it was almost hard for anyone to see him. Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji looked at the pokemon in shock and confusion. They didn't know what was happening! Slakoth was glowing! While Slakoth glowed, his form had grown bigger, his fur became white, and then the glow had died down to reveal a bigger self.

Shikamaru and Ino were amazed by the scene that appeared before them. The bigger creature had walked over to Ino and Shikamaru, seeing their confused faces. As if trying to give a hint, the bigger pokemon had yawned to Shikamaru. With that one hint, Shikamaru was able to tell that this was still his pokemon! The bigger pokemon had turned towards the Houndour and growled.

"Vigorooooooth!" it growled, showing its' rage at the wild pokemon.

"V… Vigoroth?" stuttered Shikamaru, shocked about this.

As if on cue, everyone else had arrived to the scene. Naruto had looked around to see Shikamaru's legs were burnt, there was a wild Houndour that Chouji's Makuhita was trying to fight, and there was a big white animal in the middle of the entire scene. Sakura's eyes had widened at Shikamaru's legs, but grew even wider at the sight of Shikamaru's newly evolved pokemon, Vigoroth! She ran over to Ino and Shikamaru, trying to see if she could help him in any way.

"S-Sakura… S-Slakoth… He…" stuttered Ino, still shocked at the scene she saw.

"Don't call him that anymore. He's evolved… That is Vigoroth, now!" she said, smiling at the two.

Vigoroth had still been angry, and channeling its' anger, if suddenly attacked the Houndour with one of its claws. The attack had been so strong that the Houndour had been sent into the air and further into the forest that it came from. Vigoroth, proud of its work, stood proudly in front of its' master. Shikamaru merely sat there, still surprised that his pokemon just saved all of them…

"Vigoroth used Slash!" said Sakura, surprised at the new move.

Surprising him even more, Vigoroth had bowed down on one of its knees in front of Shikamaru. It took a moment, but Shikamaru had quickly gotten the hint, and thanked Vigoroth… That didn't satisfy Vigoroth, however, as he stood and picked Shikamaru off the ground and hugged him tightly.

This made the ninja around them smile, knowing that Shikamaru had finally earned Slako- I mean, Vigoroth's trust. Shikamaru's legs were in pain, still, but it didn't matter.

"Aw, c'mon, knock it off! This is embarrassing!" complained Shikamaru, making everyone around them laugh (Except the emo boys).

"Vigorooooth!" said the happy pokemon.

"Tch, troublesome" said Shikamaru, smiling.

* * *

The rest of the day had gone fine, in which Shikamaru ended up in the hospital to get his legs bandaged up, a lecture from his mother, and one from Tsunade, telling him that she shouldn't have put so much pressure on Shikamaru. After that, he had gotten visits from the team he'd been working this mission on, and they all were amazed at the newly evolved Vigoroth.

"I still can't believe Slakoth actually evolved! I wish I would've seen it!" said Naruto, jumping up and down around it.

This had not only annoyed Shikamaru, but Vigoroth itself.

"Vigoroth, use Scratch" said Shikamaru, and Vigoroth obeyed, scratching Naruto and getting him away from the pokemon.

"HEY! Vigoroth obeyed Shikamaru!" shouted Naruto, obviously shocked.

"Of course. We're friends, now… Just like we should've been from the start, right, Vigoroth?" Shikamaru said to his pokemon, and Vigoroth replied happily.

Everyone laughed, knowing that there wouldn't be any problems between Shikamaru and his Vigoroth for a while…

TBC…

* * *

WillowWitch- Yeah, I know that I barely had Hinata in this chapter, but remember, I'm trying to follow the show as much as possible! Everyone in this story will have a chapter to show their colors!... Well, MOST of them… I'm not sure I'll have the sensei's or the Sand Siblings get a chapter of their own, but we'll just see!

Hinata- P-Please review! S-She won't continue unless she sees a review or more…

WillowWitch- GOODNIGHT EVERBODY! SLEEP TIGHT AND DON'T LET KAYAKO (From 'The Grudge') GET YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!


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